You and Me and All Other People
by Babi
Summary: REFLECTIONS OF LOVE sequel. Alex & Meredith through their hardest-darkest days as they approach the end of their residency as some life changing events break them apart. Will they get over it and be back together? Especially when someone gets on their way
1. Prologue

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You and Me and All Other People  
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**Prologue**

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Residency seemed endless. They were still on their 5th year and it seemed like forever. She has decided to go to Peds surprising everyone that has thought she would follow Derek's steps. It wasn't because of him. The day she said_ yes_ to Alex she had made up her mind that she would be with him for the rest of her days. She didn't have any second guess and she was sure he felt the same way.

Alex has decided for OB & GYN as he couldn't get himself out of what he has learnt from Addison the few months she stayed there.

Life was going well except that they wanted to feel free of the residency already. Though they have been together for almost four years they still weren't aces on communication. They had a hard time making decisions about their personal life and the life they shared together but still they were together. They trusted each other and they knew that nothing would push them apart but they still couldn't make things easier. After all they had been so stubborn and closed for almost thirty years and to change such habits will take a few more years.

_Two more years. _Meredith thought to herself. _One year and a half, it is not too long is it? We already made most of the journey and we are still here._

Feeling Alex stirs behind her, she knew he was waking up. Maybe she could bring up the subject during breakfast or during their ride to Seattle Grace. Who was she fooling? This is what she told herself every single morning in the last three months and still she didn't know how to bring up the subject.

"Good morning" he told her turning to look into her emerald orbits

"Morning. I didn't see you arrive this morning" she said about his arrival from his night shift

"So it really paid off all my effort to carefully lay down and do now wake you up"

"And how thoughtful is that?" she said softly brushing her lips on his

"Let's say you don't wake up on a good mood when I wake you up" he smirked as she slapped his arm

"Ouch, that's not how I expect to be welcomed on my own bed, you know?"

"And how is it?" Meredith asked sliding the tip of her fingers through his neck

"You know exactly what I expect" he said flipping himself over her making her giggles spread through the empty house.

The empty house. This was killing Meredith. Every since Lexie moved out with Mark and Izzie died, she felt the house was empty. She remembered how happy they were when the four of them were living there. Alex never minded of the girls living there, though he dated one and had a fling with the other. He knew Meredith never liked to be alone, to feel alone and he would take the awkward comments that sometimes rose in their conversations and how he handled to have slept with the three of them, as long as she was happy.

He missed Lexie when she first moved out. Her rambling and her endless care towards Meredith always pleased Alex. He could trust on Little Grey to keep a smile on Old Grey when he couldn't do it by himself. Children didn't have the best timing and he was called in the hospital many times because since Addison left Seattle, Richard was never able to have someone as half good as her and what Alex leanrt from her in the briefing time they worked together was acknowledged by Richard at first and now by Mark. Mark Sloan, married to Alexandra Caroline Grey, chief of surgery. How bizarre was that description? Bizarre was also the sight in the church in that infamous day. Not only he had Meredith and Alex in the altar but he also had Addison and Derek. It was a bit more than a year ago but if felt like the day before. Time rushed and at same time it gave Meredith hope that their residency will finish in no time it also scared her. She really wanted it but she has still to find the guts to talk to Alex about it. Time wasn't able to brush Izzie off of their minds and hearts. It has been over two years and a half that their cheery friend died, fighting in a horrible battle against cancer and death and though Izzie has always believed and encouraged all of them that everything would be alright, it just didn't. The three surgeries and the aggressive treatment she took for five months with radiation and chemotherapy weren't enough and on June, 23rd of 2009 they said their goodbyes to Isobel Stevens. Not too longer after Izzie's death, Derek Shepherd also said his goodbyes. He has been into a crisis when he lost a pregnant patient. He has made an honest mistake but he couldn't forgive himself for the loss of the man that called him a murderer. He decided to abandon Medicine and come back to New York. Everyone tried to help him, including Meredith and Alex but no one could reach Derek. Mark ensured everyone else that Carolyn could take care of her son as nobody else. It took him some months and a lot of days alone in the river, fishing, but he finally let it go. The last they heard from Mark and Liz, he was doing fine with his practice on New York. Liz – Derek's sister never left Seattle with her elder brother, John her husband was a nice guy and their daughter Serena was adorable and the whole family grew closer to Meredith. Callie and Bailey were still around. Meredith still had Cristina. But she missed the people that changed her life for good. She missed Richard but he was finally dedicating himself to his marriage and traveling around the world with Adele. George was also missed but he had finally got his life on track going to the Army. He left not so long ago but he was deeply missed – including by Alex but he would never admit it. And this was how Meredith's house felt empty and how, somehow, she felt like she was missing something on her life.

After making their routine in the morning, which most of times included sex and a crappy breakfast, Alex and Meredith finally made their way to the hospital.

"So I was thinking we should go buy something to Johnny. His birthday is next week and you know how much he adores you. He says you are tough like his father" said Meredith trying to make some conversation and maybe, just maybe, say what she really wanted

"Sure. Maybe we can go during lunch break? Is your schedule still the same?" he asked

"Yes, and the problem is never my schedule, it is yours and your demanding women with their obstinate children." Definitely her choice of words wouldn't make it easier for her to talk to him

"As if your children don't always get into the PIT having broken ribs and perforated lungs" he said smirking

"Whatever, just don't forget. I think he would like some Army toys to remind him of George. You know how they grew together as Owen mentored George"

"Much to Cristina's dismay. I totally get her. All her men fall in love with O'Malley and get them into her apartment" said Alex chucking as he parked his car on SGH's parking lot

They entered the hospital laughing and remembering how George spent some days with Cristina and Owen, driving her best friend crazy. When Lexie moved in with Mer, George had nowhere to go and he didn't want to live in his crapartment anymore. After his second attempt he finally was a resident and he could find something better for himself. Owen was also looking to somewhere to live after his breakup with Cristina. Not that they lived together but he couldn't sleep on his old bed anymore and Dr Wyatt told him that maybe moving to a new apartment, with pleanty of ilumination and clear walls might help him with PTS disorder. George got more and more interested in the Army and on Trauma and as they got closer, they finally decided to get a place together. It was clear from both sides it was temporary but they ended up good friends and only seven months later, after Johnny was born they finally took their separate ways.

And this was what motivated Meredith the most. If Cristina had handled to make it with Owen, how could she not do it with Alex. She did it two years ago, in the middle of their residency, so what would make it harder for Meredith and Alex to do it just one year away from its end? What are 19 months in a lifetime?

Getting changed into their scrubs and lab coats, they headed to the board, to check on their schedules.

"Dr Karev" said a nurse on a hurry "They need you on PIT"

"Which one?" said both Alex and Meredith on unison

"A pregnant woman, 34 weeks, got into a car accident, they need you" the nurse said

"See? The problem is you and your demanding women and annoying kids" she said smirking

"My kids are not annoying, yours are" he said speeding up his pace to the PIT not before kissing her forehead

"Maybe ours wouldn't" she said more to herself than to him, not aware that he clearly has heard her

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AN: So I'm back and so is my Meralex fic. I got some people marking Reflections of Love as favorite story and my heart couldn't resist so I started the Sequel.

Well this was only the Prologue and I wanted to it summarize what happened three years after we last saw the characters. So to keep you in the time track. They started dating in their 2nd residency year, when they turned into residents and in this story it was on 2007. He proposed on 2008. Izzie died on 2009. Derek left in the end of 2009. In 2010 Lexie and Mark got married. Mer & Alex got married on February of 2011. They are now on October of 2011. Two years and a half ahead of our time. They are supposed to finish their residence in the summer of 2013.

Cristina and Owen never got married but the one time they had sex (the one we watched in the show) she got pregnant and gave birth to John Owen Hunt at the beginning of 2010. They live together since then. I'm sorry that I killed Izzie, got George departed, got rid of Derek and Richard but what is the point to have all these people if I can't write many storylines? I kept the ones I cared for this story and to give them some plots. I surely do not want Izzie to die or any of these characters to depart of the show but I'm not Shonda Rimes and I can't handle so many characters. I mentioned Liz because I did on Reflections and someone had to replace Mark, no? I don't classify this story as an AU, just a development of what happened in my first story. I will try to incorporate some of things that happened on season 5 here and for those who might be curious enough about it, I will do a flashback of some of the facts that happened in the last 3 years

I hope you guys are still interested in this story and it is hard to write something so different like Mer and Alex when the show is doing so great with MD and Lexzie.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy or its characters. It belongs to Shonda Rimes. I do own Alice, Joan, Sarah, Johnny, Liz, John and Serena.**


	2. A Day to Remember

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You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 1 - A Day to Remember**

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**_Few months later_

Communication. Surely it was a challenge to many marriages but hardly as it was for Alex and Meredith Karev. They have been together for almost four years but it seemed like four weeks. Nobody could explain how they actually got married. Surely he proposed and she said yes but it was no coincidence it took them more than two years to finally walk down the aisle. It was funny and totally Alex and Mer likable.

**Flashback starts**

"_You know that now you guys were left behind?" said Mark as he and Lexie sit on the table that were Alex, Meredith, Cristina and Owen in the reception of the Chief of Surgery and the second year resident_

"_I have no idea of what you are talking about" said a nervous Alex sipping his drink_

"_What?"asked Meredith as all the eyes turned to her_

"_You know what. What kind of fiancees never talk or plan their marriage?" asked Mark smirking_

"_The kind that is not pregnant or going after money?" asked Alex_

"_Come on, guys, you started dating before us, you got engaged before us and Meredith you will probably get pregnant before me" said Lexie sit on her brand new husband lap._

_Meredith choked on her drinking spilling it all over the table._

"_Motherhood is not her favorite subject" said Cristina rolling her eyes_

"_Even Cristina is a mother, Meredith. Cristina for God's sake!!!! I thought she was going to give birth to R2D2 droid" said Mark sarcastically_

"_Hey, my godson is an angel" said Meredith trying to recover from her fiasco with the champagne_

"_How come can you be a godmother, Cristina a mother, a manwhore like me can get married but you can't? I mean, we closed our club a long time ago. There is more on you, Grey"_

"_We will get married, okay? When the time is right" said Alex seeing that Meredith was getting uncomfortable. They got used to the comments and questions about their engagement and wedding but it didn't mean they didn't have a hard time, especially when they were at a wedding reception._

"_Right" said Cristina rolling her eyes "I am going to check the drooler" she completed as she stood up to look for her son_

"_This kid will need therapy at age five" said Mark_

"_She loves Johnny and he knows it, she just has a different way to show it" said Owen_

"_We all know she is a softie when she is alone with him, poor boy must have bad dreams about his bipolar mother" said Alex smirking_

"_So, Alex, when is right?" said Owen, who was always very protective of his family_

"_Yeah, I want to be a married bridesmaid" said Lexie excited for her elder sister wedding_

"_If we knew when right is we would already be married" he said_

"_We will know it" Meredith completed "Eventually?"_

"_Yeah, right" Owen said smirking_

"_Right" both Meredith and Alex whispered_

**Flashback ends**

"So how was your day?" asked Alex as Meredith entered the house after her day shift

"It was okay" she said throwing her purse on the couch and laying by his side

"Missed me?"

"No, you are too annoying and it just feels nice to have a day away from you" she said as she slipped until his lap

"So no special dinner for you" he said rubbing her head

"Does my amazing husband have something for me?" she asked

"Do you think it is a coincidence that on your birthday I am not working and you are?" he asked with a big grin on his face that was immediately on her face as well

"What did your naughty, naughty boy do?" she asked sitting down with a mischievous smile

"Nothing you are imagining your dirty, dirty missy" he said as he stood up and lead the way to the kitchen

In the square table of their kitchen there were her favorite dish, Chicken Parmesan, wine and a rose, a yellow rose.

"Thank you so much" she said kissing him passionately

"I just wanted you to know you own me big time" he said kissing his wife back

"And I am more than please to play dirty-naughty as payoff" she said walking until the table

"Wow I even got a card?" she said as she opened the little white card

_I have a lot to celebrate not only today but also tomorrow. _

_The day you were born I was blessed without know it._

_The day you married me I was saved._

_I love you, Meredith Lily Karev._

_Thank you, for everything._

_Alex_

"Oh Alex" she said with teary eyes "I got used to your corny remarks but this was beautiful, thank you" she said kissing and hugging her husband

"You make me so happy, Mer, you've changed my life some years ago and I have a lot to celebrate, our marriage, our life together but especially you" he said still hugging her

"You make me happy too" she said as they released themselves from each other

"Shall we eat?" he asked

"Shall we" she said

They ate and talked through the night. They didn't develop a lot of subjects, mostly about the hospital, their sex life and mocking their friends but somehow a subject they were avoiding like the plague rose in their friendly conversation

"Don't you think we should move to a smaller place?" she asked

"But you love this house, you say you had the best memories of your life here" he said

"I know but this is too big for only the two of us. I have my mom's funds and also some properties in Boston and other cities. We could buy a new place" she said tasting her wine

"I don't know, we don't even know where we are going after our residence is done maybe we should wait" he said turning pale the moment the words left his mouth

There it was. The future talk. Their future. The truth is they knew in a little over a year they would be released from the hospital and they were already contacting their network in some hospitals in the country. The problem was they were doing it alone and very shyly. Only fifteen months away of their professional freedom, they should be looking more seriously for a place to work in the second half of the next year.

Surely Mark already told them and Cristina he would try his best to keep them in the Grace. He compromised himself to write them very convincing recommendation letters but they knew it wasn't this easy to keep three residents from the surgical program. It was easier for Alex and Cristina, as their specialties weren't exactly on their best shape on Grace. Every since Addie and Preston left, it was on a nightmare for Richard and lately for Mark.

They got resumes and some very nice doctors worked with them but for one reason or the other they left. Dr Lee was very competent, but he was the only highlight of the cardiology-surgery staff. Surely Mark had more than personal reasons to keep Cristina. She would probably be the successor of Joshua when he retires within 5 or 8 years as he already suggested to Mark. Alex also had a great opportunity there. Definitely Addison was missed. The department was led by six different doctors since her farewell and still it wasn't on his best shape now with Dr Morrison. Alex and Dr Simon were two good additions to their OB Gyn staff. As Alex would finish his residency in the next year, Simon had still two more years ahead of him and Mark knew both men could do a great job.

As for Meredith, it wasn't easy to keep her. Seattle Grace had the best pediatric wing of West Coast. Robbins and Bailey were a great team and they have other two great doctors working with them. People traveled thousands of miles to have their children operate by one of the two doctors and it would be hard for Mark to prove to the board that they needed another pediatric surgeon and both Alex and Meredith knew it.

They didn't want to be a burden to each other. Meredith knew Alex had a great chance to become the head of OB&Gyn very soon. He was talented, he was passionate by his job and he loved those children and mothers as if they were his. He has kept contact with Addison and in more than one occasion she invited him to assist her in a rare procedure on Los Angeles. He had learned a lot from her not only during the months she stayed on SGH but every since he chose for the vagina squad.

Alex knew it was a great opportunity for his career maybe the biggest of the next ten years. It wasn't common to have the chance to be the head of a surgery department only a few years after the residency no matter how good he was or not. It wasn't only about his performance as a surgeon but also trustworthiness.

Would he resent Meredith if he chose her over his career? Would he resent his career if he chose it over the woman of his life? He truly didn't know the answer. He surely wasn't totally comfortable with the great amount of money she had, from her mother's heritage and surely his mother had some money but he hadn't and he never liked to ask for money to her. He worked hard to keep himself on Seattle when he was alone. When he moved in to Meredith's house, they were four to pay the bills and it wasn't too much but then Izzie died, Lexie left and it was only Meredith and him.

They didn't have an expensive way of life but he felt like if they had a baby or needed to buy a house, Meredith would be the money provider and his pride was hurt. If he was head of a department in a hospital as Seattle Grace he would provide to his family everything they needed and still have money for something else. Obviously if he had to think exclusively about his career and Meredith he would choose her in a blink of eye but the reason why he wanted to have a good job was to give her financial freedom to open her practice or to get pregnant without worry about money. She avoided spending her mother's money as she still referred to the funds she inherited and she was proud to keep themselves by their incomes only and he wouldn't want her to change something so important to her pride.

Slipping the subject during their celebration wasn't what he meant but now he couldn't take it back. She didn't say anything and he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. He knew her better than anyone else but there were some moments like now that Meredith was still a complete mystery to him. Sometimes she was silent and sometimes she was clearly annoyed and he couldn't say what it was about. He was still learning to read her in these moments and right now he had no clue of what she was thinking.

Not knowing what else to do he broke the silence

"Mer?"

"Yeah, you are right, we are living here for years and now we are close to finish our residence so what means 15 months, right? We can wait until our lives are decided and we know where we are going, then we buy a smaller house. It is not like we know it and it is not like we will have any children to populate this house." She said and quickly excused herself to the restroom not before thanking him one more time for the dinner and the card.

Once more he decided to keep his lips shut. He wouldn't start a subject that clearly annoyed her and spoiled their celebration night. Like many other times before, a glimpse of their future was more than enough to build higher walls between them, so as always he cursed himself for his big mouth as he washed the dishes.

"That's why you should keep your mouth shut, idiot" he murmured as he took a beer and kicked the chair.

Upstairs, Meredith splashed her face. No, this wasn't how she planned to talk to him about their career decision and she knew she was scared but now she also felt guilty. She ruined their perfect night and her stupid fears once more messed up everything. She has been totally unfair to Alex who clearly didn't want to pressure her and just mentioned it because it was a stupid idea to move to a new place. Once more she hurt him and she couldn't find a way to forgive herself for hurting him when all he did to her was love her, with all her flaws, and do his best to make her happy.

"Way to go. That was pathetic" she said as she wiped the tears falling continuously on her face

One day more that Meredith and Alex couldn't communicate, another day they will remember for awhile, the day they could have take a step forward but instead took two back.

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_AN: This and the next couple of chapters will set up the situation Meredith and Alex are going through. This fic is about they taking the next steps. Unlike MD and the show, both Alex and Meredith have a background that can't be ignored. There isn't a Derek figure here, so they never showed support to each other to face their demons and let their hurting past behind of them. They were scared most of time not about themselves but about each other. On the next chapter I will develop a bit more why they are behaving like this, especially after a few years together and then the action will come. I'd love to have some feedback about the plot and things you like or dislike but if you are not into Meralex, if you think it is just stupid for them to be together, then this is not for you, I'd advice you to do not keep reading._

_Unlike Reflections of Love, there will be a lot of medical action going on that will help or not them with their issues. The first one is communication. The second is about their careers after their residences and as I already gave clues on ROF and also in the prologue, Meredith wants to have children but let's just say Alex is not there. I hope you guys enjoy the trip._


	3. The Silence of The Angels

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You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 2 - The Silence of the Angels**

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A few days have passed and Meredith and Alex were still talking the basic to each other. They only had significant conversation in the middle of crises. It was like this since they started dating and though they had talked about their future the day they went to Iowa to get Sarah's rapper on jail and the day Izzie died, most of other days they avoided doing plans. Their wedding only happened because of a crisis and they decided it in the last minute.

They both were in the hospital that morning and after her 9am surgery which has been quick Meredith was sat in the residents' room, reading the latest journal that had an interesting article on pediatric surgery when she was paged 911.

She ran to the ER and has seen a little girl covered with blood and yelling.

Dr Bailey was on surgery and she could see Dr Robbins giving orders to the interns that 'helped' her.

"Grey, I need a hand here" she said as she saw Meredith reaching for them

"What happened?" Meredith asked as the little girl cried and yelled in pain

"She ran from her father's office and got hit by a car, there are multiple injuries, I already paged Dr Torres, she will be here in a minute" she said as she examined the little body

"I need a MRI of her brain and abdomen" Arizona said and in the same moment the girl coded

"Give me the paddles" she yelled as the intern quickly got the CPR cart

They worked quickly, massaging her chest and shocking her and after a few minutes they finally got a pulse

"We need to get the images ASAP" said Arizona and Meredith stepped up to take it

"What's her name?" Meredith asked as she moved the stretcher "Becky" said Arizona as she moved to talk to the parents that were desolated, yelling and crying as their baby went through the double doors.

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Meredith was very careful with Becky but at the same time she knew she had to be fast. Every minute the little girl waited could cost her life

For some odd reason Meredith felt connected with the little girl the moment she saw her. She was cute. She had blue eyes and light curled blond hair. While the girl was unconscious in the MRI machine Meredith realized that Becky looked a lot like Meredith on her age. They could be taken as sisters if Meredith was still five years old. Or they could be taken as mother and daughter. They have the same hair and eyes and their noses were also alike. Maybe the biggest difference was the freckles the little girl had. They were almost as the same color as her skin. She was in fact a cute kid, the cute kid Meredith longed so much to have. Thinking about their resemblance Meredith immediately wondered about what hers and Alex's children would look like. Every time she thought about their kids the same image was on her mind, they would have two girls and a boy, all of them would have light brown hair/dark blond hair, lighter than Alex's but darker than her honey blond, the girls would have his eyes format but would be blue's as hers. They would also have her nose but his chin and mouth. The little boy would be the spitting image of his father. Same eyes, nose, mouth, hair, everything about him would be like his father, and she wouldn't help and name him after his dad, Alexander Josh Karev II or Junior. In fact she didn't like any combination and would prefer Alexander Josh Karev simply and plain, exactly like his father because that's what he would be, a great little man, honored, kind, honest, a fighter with a big heart, that always said the truth regardless of what the truth was.

The little beep let her know the images were already loaded in the screen and it brought Meredith back from her daydream

"Shit" was all she said as she saw the images. Selecting to print, she immediately paged Arizona. That wasn't good, not good at all.

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A few minutes and Arizona met Meredith

"She has two concussions on her head and it is bleeding fast, we need Dr Silver, she also has internal bleeding throughout her abdomen, for the images I found these three but it could have more" said Meredith as she pointed to different regions on the screen.

"We need to operate on her now" said Arizona leaving "I'll book the OR, prepare to scrub in Dr Grey, I already talked to Silver, she said she has a surgery scheduled to begin in a hour but she could move it to the afternoon"

"Stay with me Becky" said Meredith as she removed the little girl from the MRI with the help of the intern that was with her

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They started to operate on Becky at 12:15am and Dr Silver, the new head of neurosurgery, finished her job after an hour and a half and said she wanted new images as soon as they finished with the surgeries they were doing to repair the organs that were affected. The little girl had several internal bleeding and a few injured organs and broken bones.

They have spent almost five hours operating on Becky and though she didn't code or had any other complication caused by the surgery, she had lost too much blood and they didn't know how much Dr Silver was able to fix on the little girl's brain. She has left saying she had stopped the bleeding and if there was any complication they could page her. She didn't provide any details and both Arizona and Meredith knew it wasn't a good sign.

They were exhausted at the end but to know that Becky was still breathing paid it off. They didn't know how the little girl has survived through many injuries but she was holding on.

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Hillarie Silver was a middle age redheaded woman that joined the hospital just after Derek departure. She has come from Los Angeles and she surely was one of the best in the country. She was always very professional on her behavior with the staff and many said she was a lot like Miranda Bailey. She was married and had two beautiful girls that from time to time came to have lunch with her mother or just simply visit.

When Meredith and Arizona knocked on her door, she asked them to come in.

"How did it go?" she asked with a firm but still soft voice

"She has been through it. She lost a lot of blood but we were able to repair the damage for now" said Arizona

"I stopped the bleedings on her brain and I need to see the new scans and I prefer to talk to the parents after we see the images. There was too much damage and her brain didn't receive oxygen for way too long. I still need to see the scans and exam her but I think she won't wake up, if she makes through the night at all" said Hillarie

The three doctors were visibly sad. The little girl was a fighter, she resisted all the invasive procedures they had done in her body in the last few hours. Her heart never gave up and it was always hard when a patient, especially a child put so much effort and strength for his life and still couldn't make it.

"They said me she was so lovely. They didn't give any details of why she left running his office and crossed the street, the only thing they said was that she was always very obedient and that she was always careful" said Arizona

"I asked them what happened" said Silver "I thought one bleeding on her brain wasn't caused by the accident. I think she had something going on, so I asked the parents what happened. They said that she was okay the days before that she didn't complain about any pain and the school hasn't report any fall or something. But I wasn't convinced yet and asked them who else spent time with Becky, someone that could have known if she hit her head on anything and maybe has forgot to say them but they said there was nobody.

They were at Mr. Adams' office, for him to come with them to the hospital to check on Becky but she got scared when she heard about the hospital. She said she didn't want to go the hospital, that she didn't want to be like her granny. They said she ran yelling she didn't want to go to heaven, that she didn't want to become an angel and she ran" said Silver as a tear slowly fell on her face. Arizona and Meredith were also teary

"That's when her four year old sister arrived with Mr. Adams sister and her own kid. She had taken both girls in the school and came straight to check on Becky especially because Marissa couldn't stop asking for her sister." Hillarie stopped again

"I decided to let the family alone and when I was leaving I could listen to Marissa ask to her parents if Becky was sleeping again"

"At first I didn't processed it but as I walked to my office I wondered what she meant by again. So I walked back to them and asked again if she has been admitted in a hospital before and they once again said she never had anything more serious than a few colds and flues. I still had a feeling that she got something on her brain before the accident, this bleeding was on the left side of back and there were different colors of blood. The SUV hit on her right side. It could have been caused by the fall but I wasn't convinced yet. So I asked them if I could ask to Marissa what she meant by sleep again and they said I could go ahead.

She said that when their granny was really sad and on a large white house like this, she and Becky came to visit her. Mrs. Adams said her mother didn't wanted their granddaughters to remember her on a hospital bed attached to so many wires so they took a wheelchair and went to the square in front of Presbyterian

Mrs. Adams phone rang and she left the kids with their granny and walked a few steps away as her mother was caressing both of her daughters. Her mother was lucid and though she was very weak she was capable of keep an eye on the girls. Mrs. Adams was distracted by a heated discussion with one of her employees and slowly she was going farther from her family but she always looked to them and they were playing in the swing and later on her mother's lap. If I understood it well each girl were on a swing and Becky flew from her swing and she hit on the bench and fell close to her grandmother who reached for her granddaughter and took her on her lap. Marissa said that both of them slept after this but the truth is Mrs. Adam's mother had a heart attack and died and probably Becky stood unconscious on her granny lap.

Mrs. Adams says she will never forget that day. She said she had spent about half an hour on the phone but kept looking to her daughters who seemed okay. She said her mother was with her back to her and she couldn't see she was sleeping – or dead for that matter – and that after a few minutes Marissa also joined them and also laid on her grandmothers lap. She said she even took a picture because it was cute to see her mother with each one of her granddaughters on her lap, one on each side. Mrs. Adams said they stood there for a little over than an hour, she working on her laptop, in the bench where probably Becky hit her head and the two kids on her mother's lap.

She didn't want to wake up the girls so she called her husband and asked him to pick them up there and help with the girls.

Mr. Adams arrived and according to them Becky and Marissa were sounded asleep when he took both and carefully put them on his car to take them home. Mrs. Adams took her mother back to the hospital and that's when she was informed her mother wasn't breathing anymore. Amanda got desperate and called her husband who was already on his way with the kids and said what happened. He said he would take the girls home and ask the girls nanny to spend the night with the girls and he went back to the hospital to be with Amanda."

"Oh my God" Arizona said

"I think they didn't realize she was unconscious because Marissa was asleep and they said both girls were heavy sleepers. The girl woke up in the next morning and they thought she wasn't her normal happy self because of her grandmother death. Surely the bleeding would hardly kill her and they would come to the hospital sooner or later and I told them that this is probably what made Becky run and disobey they"

The three doctors were in silence when there was a knock in the door. Silver asked the person to come in and it was the intern on Becky's case with some images and exam results from her brain

"There is no activity" was all Silver said and they knew now they had to break the bad news to the Adams'.

* * *

Meredith talked to the parents along with Silver and Robbins and immediately left for an on call room. Alex who was in the nurses' station saw the moment his wife walked fast passed him and by the glimpse he had of her, he knew she wasn't okay. He quickly signed the papers and handled two charts to the nurse and followed his wife who has locked herself in the room

"Mer, open, it is me" he said softly knocking the door

It didn't take more than a few seconds and he heard her unlocking it

She immediately hugged him and she held him as she was holding her life. He had heard about the little girl story but he didn't know the outcome until that moment. His wife didn't use to be affected this way by her patients. In the past five years they have learned how to let it go even when it was unfair.

"You can talk to me, Mer" he said but there was no answer

"We are both fucked up. We had crappy childhoods and we were hurt growing up and I know I am not the supportive husband you need and deserve. But you can talk to me. I don't know how to do it but I will learn for you" he said holding his wife "I know you had a hard day and I know we are on a bad patch since your birthday" he said but he met with silence again

"I know you probably lost that little girl and I think there is more, you know you can't fool me, Mer" he said looking to her for the first time, after releasing his grip. She tried to avoid his gaze but he reached for her hand "You don't need to say it now, in a hospital on call room but I want you to know that I am here for you, even if I do any stupid thing or idiot remark, I am here for you" he assured her

"Thank you. Tonight, after work we talk, I am fine now" she said and smiled slightly

"Okay" he said squeezing her hand. He kissed her forehead and left to continue his round with his interns.

She stood there in the middle of the OCR, looking to nowhere thinking about what happened, thinking about how hard Becky fought for her life and still it wasn't enough. She thought what she should say to Alex. There was so much to talk, so much she wanted him to know, about her bad day, about her dreams about their kids, about their lives when they finish their residencies, about the practice she wanted to open and how she was planning on try to get a job on Seattle Presbyterian or how she thought she wanted to move out of her mother's house because she didn't want to raise her children in the same house she was abandoned by her father. She spent the next hour thinking about it and when it was 7pm she went to the resident's room to change on her street clothes and lead to home.

* * *

The ride was silent and Alex knew he should give her some space that she would open up to him. At least he hoped she will.

They arrived at home and she said she would take a shower while he cooked their dinner. She let the hot water fall on her face, on her head but she didn't let go the image of the little girl she lost. She lost Becky today and in her heart she felt her two girls and boy would also be lost before they were found. She felt like she would never had a chance to have them because it was better for her to lose them before she actually had them, than losing them like Amanda lost Becky. She knew the world wasn't fair and she knew innocent children died every day. Like she listened to a prayer from a pastor in the ICU praying for a little baby boy: May God keep you away from all the dangers of childhood and keep you under His wings.

Every since their day she has been thinking about his words, the dangers of childhood and in days like these she knew it better than anyone how dangerous it was. The little angels were innocent and didn't know between safe and dangerous and only God could prevent more accidents like Becky's and she was sure He prevented it too happen to thousands and thousands of babies because only a few died that way but she couldn't brush from her mind the fear she had of her own kids to die from the dangers of the childhood, when she looked to Becky in that MRI machine she looked like an angel and she resembled Meredith a lot. Letting her tears fall with the water drops, she cried silently taking one step away from her dream but she wouldn't say it to Alex. He didn't know she wanted the two girls and the boy, so she would just let it go.

* * *

_AN: I know this is beyond sad. I am sorry if I hurt or offended anyone but as I said I want a lot of medical cases in this new fic and I'll use them as a start point to our characters to develop their storylines, not only MA. This story is a bit dark now but it will have plenty of joy but always with hints (or more) of drama. I'll try to have at least one flashback per chapter, maybe more, and there will be more of C/O; Slexie, Callie and Miranda. Btw there is no callizona in this fic, in fact Callie is straight here just to make things easier for me to write her. Reviews are always welcomed, especially for me to know what you guys think about it._


	4. Sweet February

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 3 - Sweet February**

* * *

Alex tried to get Meredith to talk but like he already knew, she wouldn't. They moved on from their awkwardness and would finally celebrate their first marriage anniversary, ten days later but at least she agreed to have dinner with him. Surely, they went to Carmine again, all special occasions led them there, including the day of their wedding.

**

* * *

Flashback Starts**

"_Time of death, 16:32" said Meredith as Kristin's heart finally gave up_

_Kristin has been on a car accident and before she made the OR to have her brain operated, she died. Meredith has just transferred her fellowship from Neuro and Peds in her 5__th__ year and as she still had two years and a half to go, she wouldn't need to extent her already very long residency. Anyway she was in the PIT when Kristin and her fiancé were admitted and she quickly helped both, instructing her interns  
_

_Nathaniel had only some scratches and an arm broken and he was quickly released to Ortho. Kristin had hit her head hard and she had coded twice already in the way to the hospital. In the forth code though, they weren't able to bring her back and she would have to break the news to Nathaniel._

_She had decided that today would be the last day on Neuro and she has lost the patient even before she handle the scalpel._

_Waiting for the intern to finish the work on Nathaniel's arm, she entered the room as soon as he was done._

_He was a beautiful man, probably on his late thirties and he would be devastated to know his fiancée has just passed away._

"_Mr. Ritz" she started "I am sorry but Ms. White didn't make it. We couldn't resuscitated her in the fourth time her heart stopped, I am so sorry" she said but unlike she expected there were no words or yelling like before in the PIT_

"_Did you listen to me, Mr. Ritz?" she asked_

_He simply__ nodded his head_

"_Is there anything I can do for you? Anyone I can call?"_

"_No" he said, his face still the same as when Meredith entered the room_

"_Okay" Meredith said totally surprised by his reaction. She checked his vitals and turned to leave when he talked again_

"_She would make a great wife, we've been postponing the wedding for years, saying there was still time and when it was right we would just do it. But then my job has been demanding, then she left to take care of her sick mother and later to bury her and we simply just didn't make it and now I'll bury her, she has no one else, no family. No brothers, aunts, father, nobody and what am I supposed to have on her grave? Beloved Fiancée? A woman that would make a great mother and wife but because her fiancé was an idiot, he never took the next step, so now she would be a beloved fiancée?" he said bitterly_

"_I am sorry you couldn't get married, Mr. Ritz" Meredith said trying to offer some comfort  
_

"_I never loved any other woman and I am sure I won't ever love another and I know you think I am just a heartless jerk that is thinking about the grave when the love of his life has died but I lost my soul mate and this will probably kill me but in the car a few moments before the crash, she was saying that Kristin Ritz was a powerful name and that she never liked White because snow and sheep were white but Ritz was strong and she would be like a Hollywood star. How could I didn't see she wanted it so much? She never pressured me, she let it on me but now she is gone, as Kristin Kelly White. I could have give this one thing to her and I didn't" he said and he finally cracked and starting sobbing and crying compulsively_

_It immediately hit Meredith. If she dies in the next day, week, month, decade or century, she would like to be Meredith Lily Karev. She didn't want to be a Grey anymore. She knew Alex was only waiting for her and if it was on him they were already married a long time ago. They both had decided they wouldn't have a traditional wedding from the moment Sarah and Joan became bridezilas with their engagement. They wanted it simply, maybe their best friends and family, if so. They haven't thought about a place neither if they wanted to get married in the church but now Meredith wouldn't wait another day._

_They have sent the papers to City House before Christmas because she said she wouldn't start 2011 engaged but at the last minute she chickened out and simply postponed it to 'later' when there isn't such snow on her backyard, where they supposedly would invite their friends to a surprise wedding disguised as new year's barbecue. They didn't want Lexie to go over and over again about a church or Mark mocking them for days. If they didn't know about the wedding there would be no mockery or pressure._

_She called City Hall and confirmed they had some free slots for that day and her papers were still valid. She just had to find Alex. They couldn't wait for their shifts to end because City Hall would be closed already. He was on surgery but C-sections were fast. She talked to Callie and went to their house to take her the dress she had bought for the barbecue wedding and got him a suit. Who needed a tux? Thirty minutes later she was already in the hospital and as expected his surgery was already done. She paged him to meet her in the basement. _

_They arrived there together, he ran because he knew she would only ask him to meet her there if it was something serious. Though she was half way there when she sent him the message, she had the box with her dress, in which she packed his suit as well and somehow it fit, so she took a little longer to reach there._

"_What happened?" he gasped regaining his breath_

"_I am ready and I can't wait one more day" she said serious and almost freaking out_

"_Ready for what?" he pleaded "Is it still because we couldn't celebrate your birthday yesterday?" he asked the only thing he could remember_

"_I am ready to be Mrs. Karev, I called City Hall and we could go there today. Here is your suit, please don't look the dress behind the red silk. It is my dress and I don't want to jinx our wedding day" she said with a tentative smile_

"_Are you serious?" he asked opening a big grin_

"_As I never was before, let's do it. We don't need bridesmaids or best men. Just you and me" she said_

"_We still need witnesses, don't we?" he asked_

"_We can find someone there"_

"_Let's go. February has always been my favorite month" he said kissing her passionately_

"_But I'll still want three gifts for Valentine's Day, my birthday and our anniversary, even though they are separated by only three days"_

"_I'll give as many presents as you want" he said and both left to ask Chief to give them an extra hour off_

**Flashback Ends**

* * *

Just before their brief wedding ceremony, Alex has called Il Terrazo Carmine from the toilet where he changed into his suit. It was a Thursday night and hopefully they would have a table for two. Valentine's Day has been three days before and it made that particular Thursday an easy day to get a table on their favorite restaurant.

Now one year and ten days later they were back to the place she loved and that he grew to love as well. A few months ago she confessed to him her thoughts about the cozy restaurant and how she pretended that everyone there was just happy and none of the problems they had were in their heads.

He has laughed about her and she has blushed but they have spent a lovely night celebrating their engagement anniversary, though they were already married. They have been on Carmine in the last three years on October 19th and they just felt they should keep going. On 2010 he got a reservation for the same date in the next two years. The only reason why they didn't have reserved more was because the Italian restaurant only had a two year schedule. They used to go there at least once a year but now it would be at least two.

"I can't get tired of coming here" she said after both handle the menus to the waiter and made their orders.

"You always eat the same" he chucked

"I love Sirloin Parmesan" she said

"It is great indeed, I can always order something else for me and finish yours" he said

"It is too big. I think Italians eat a lot" she giggled

The waiter came back with their choice of wine and they made the toast

"For the happiest day of my life" she said raising her glass

"I have more to say, if you don't mind" he said keeping his elbow in the table with his glass in his raised hand

"Okay" she said following his moves and looking curious as he took a paper from his pocket

"I never got a chance to really write you the votes and the pager ringing in the middle of our ceremony didn't make any easier to come out with something in the last minute" he said shyly

"Alex, you don't need to. I didn't write anything and I didn't say anything back there either" she said blushing

"I want to" he said and cleared his throat and started

"I thought I should you write you some words in this day but I couldn't find enough words to say how much I love you and how amazing you are. I know I can be corny and I know you will laugh but you, Meredith Lily already Karev, deserve these honest words and a promise of my eternal love. You changed my life, with one kiss in a movies line, you changed my life. I was already in love with you but when I felt your soft and warm lips something inside of me told me that my sad days could be gone and I'll be forever thankful for the chance you gave for me to love you. I will always love you, Meredith, everything about you and I hope God will bless me to have you by my side until my last day because he already turned earth into heaven the day he gave you to me" he said and looked up to her teary and beautiful emerald green eyes

"Alex, thank you" she whispered "I love you too and I will always will. I also have a new life, a better new life with you and though I am not corny and don't have some written words I can promise you that I will always be by your side, until your last day, loving you with all my heart" she said

He took her hand and kissed it

"To our love" he toasted

"To our love" she repeated

They exchanged a few I love you's and other tender words and their food finally arrived

"It remembers me that you failed in your first marriage promise" she said

"Which promise?" he asked curious

"I agreed to marry you on February as long as I got three presents and so far I got only a dinner and a card, both for my birthday" she whined playfully

"I do remember writing a word or two about our anniversary and if I remember correctly you wanted to get marry on February" he smirked and was immediately hit in the arm

"It is not fair" she complained eating her food "You totally forgot Valentine's Day and I told you for as long as keep your sex life as busy as a girlfriend, I deserve Valentine's Day gifts."

"I figured out we would celebrate on last weekend and that's why I gave you nothing. Valentine's day was on a Tuesday and your birthday on a Thursday, so I thought if I'd give you the presents on Saturday it would be okay"

"And where are they?" she asked curious

"At home" he smirked proudly

"Oh no, you didn't"

"Yes I did"

"You knew I would ask and you know I am curious, especially about presents, you did it on purpose, your evil" she said hitting his arm again

"And now you will have to wait for them and I know you won't resist the dessert, that one that takes twenty minutes to be made and that you love" he said

"You are such a mean husband" she said pretending she wouldn't eat more

"Is it already mine to finish?" he said moving his fork to her sirloin

"Get your hands off my food" she said pricking him with her own fork

"Ouch" he said

"That's what you deserve, your evil husband" she said eating her food

"I am evil? You are the one that can't wait a single hour and you didn't even got me a present" he pouted

"This is where you are wrong, Mister" she said taking a bit of her food and chewing "Two can play this game"

"So you got me something as well?" he asked

"I never said it, I can wait for an hour and I am up to dessert, so you figure it" she said smiling

"You are no fun" he whined

"And you should have learned already"

"Yeah, I know, there is no winning with you" he said and kept teasing each other during their dinner

* * *

"So what is it you have for me?" she asked as they entered their house

"It is nothing special. You know presents are not my forte, so you better not get too excited" he said half smiling

"I am sure it is" she said sitting on the couch "I'm waiting"

He went upstairs as she opened the closet on the dinner room. She went back to the couch with the little package behind her back and waited for him to return

As he came back he had three packages on his hands

"For Valentine's day" he handed her a little bag that for sure had a CD or a DVD she thought

"The Coldplay album!" she exclaimed "You remembered" said her referring to the day they were going to the hospital when played a Coldplay song of their latest album and she vaguely commented she would buy it

"Of course I did" he said kissing her cheek

"What else you have for me?" she asked

"For your birthday" he said giving her a jewelry box "For now that's what you will hang on it" he said as she opened the box and found a little chain with a "M" pave diamond pendant

"It is beautiful" she said turning around for him to hook the chain. The pendant was very small but it didn't matter for her she preferred this way anyway.

"I meant to give it for you in the dinner but I haven't given you the others and this was the most meaningful so I decided against it because this one should be the last. It was the only other thing missing in addition to my votes" he said softly

The moment he said it she knew what it was and her heart skipped a beat. They decided to get marry in a rush and he didn't have time to buy their wedding bands. Meredith said she didn't need any rings as she had to scrub in all the time and she would lose it but Alex knew better than that because she kept wearing her engagement ring, now on her left hand

She had tears in her eyes as she carefully opened the package and lately the box.

"Oh my God, Alex" she said and moved her hand to her cover her mouth. There were two bands. One was a plain 5mm platinum comfort fit band and the other was a platinum pave channel diamond comfort fit band.

Alex took the diamond band and rolled on her finger not before taking out her engagement ring. Then the rolled the plain band and kissed her hand "Now you have what you deserved since the day one"

He reached for the pocket on his shirt and gave her a plain band exactly like hers.

She took it from his hand and slowly rolled into his finger kissing it when she was done

"I love you Meredith Lily Karev" he said

"And I love you Alexander Josh Karev" she replied and their kissed met to a passionate kiss.

* * *


	5. You've Got News

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 4 - You've Got News**

* * *

On Monday, Alex and Meredith arrived at the hospital and he was overly excited after their ride

"I can't believe you saved all my songs" he said getting his brand new iPod he got as a gift for Valentine's Day

"I am a thoughtful wife. Every time I did a backup for my iPod I did to yours as well because I know you would never do" she said. She had got the new iPod but the more than 800 songs and videos were her anniversary gift. Ever since he lost it and couldn't find he was moping about his lost collection. There were very rare versions of his favorite songs and bands that took him years of research

"You are a perfect wife" he said entering the residents' locker

"Just because you are the perfect husband" said her looking to her bands again. She loved the bands he got them and she was proud to wear it from now on

As they entered the residents locker room they heard the buzz, today Mark would make the announcement they have been waiting for almost a month. But when Meredith entered the room she got the attention at least from her friends. The first to notice their bands were Lexie and she surely weren't subtle about it

"Meredith" she yelled in the middle of the room

"What?" Meredith asked startled by her younger sister

"Your bands, oh my God, let me see it" she said and immediately Cristina's attention was also on Meredith's hand

"It was about time" she said smirking "Were you guys walking in front of a jewelry store and it felt right?" she asked with sarcasm

"It was my anniversary present and why we bought it is none of your business" said Meredith defensively

"Whatever" said Cristina walking to her locker but happy for her friend

"They are beautiful, Meredith" Lexie said honestly "You did a great job, Alex"

"Anything would look beautiful on Meredith" he said looking to his wife who was proud of her rings as she stretched her arm and looked to the two bands on her left hand

"Are you anxious about the announcement?" Lexie asked Alex but before he could answer Mark entered the room

"Finally I won't have to give you any assignments" he said to the second and third year residents.

After he was done with them he asked all residents to quickly follow him to the conference room

"As you know Dr Murray stepped down as Chief of Residents and after weeks analyzing the applications we received we are proud to announce Dr Alex Karev as Grace new Chief of Resident" Mark said and the residents applauded and started to congratulate Alex

Meredith who has been in the other side of the table just grinned to her husband and mouthed _you deserves it_ as he smiled back to her

"I hope you can make such a great job as Dr Murray did and for you to be able to stay in the position for the fifteen months you still have in the program" said Mark smirking to his friend

"I won't let you down, Chief" Alex said shaking hands with Mark

"Dr Murray I'd like to once more thank you for the brilliant work you've done in the last twenty months. I know you sacrificed your own learning to make such deep changes in the flow of our residency program and I am more than happy to release you to take the best you can from Dr Silver in the few remaining months of your residency" said Mark to the 6th year neurosurgeon resident as they applauded her as well.

Shelley thanked her boss and her colleagues and Mark discharged all the residents to go and asked Alex to go to his office as soon as he had a spot on his schedule. He wanted to explain the job to Alex and set up how they would work from now on

* * *

Meredith waited for all the interns and residents to leave until she was alone with her husband

"I am so proud of you" she said hugging him

"I wouldn't have made it without you. In fact I am sure I wouldn't even applied if wasn't for your support" he said as they were still embraced

"You need to have a little more faith on you, Dr Karev" she said looking to Alex's eyes "You are an incredible doctor. Dr Hunt, Dr Robbins, Dr Morrison all have been complimentary of you, though I am not sure if Morrison's compliments mean that much" she said and both laughed

"He is the chief of the department I work, I think what he says might be relevant" he chucked

"You know what I mean, even before you pick a specialty, Owen and Arizona have first saw it but Bailey, Richard, Derek have all been very complimenting of you. You are a great surgeon Alex, you should been convinced already" she said as they left the room

"The only thing I am convinced is that I am very lucky to have you. You've changed my life, Mer, in all aspects I can imagine" he said

"So there is hope I will finally convince you of how great you are" she said kissing his cheek and leaving

* * *

Since Lexie got married to Mark things have been hard on them and their friends. Mark was married to Lexie, who was sister with Meredith, who was married to Alex and best friends with Cristina who had a son and lived with Owen. Liz was very often included in their plot and every time one of them got something from Mark or the board there was this silent talking of favoritism. Lexie wanted the position of chief but there were already talking of how she would become chief just because she was married to the chief of surgery. But if she couldn't be named chief why could her brother-in-law? He was as family to Mark as she was and everyone knew this time wouldn't be different, that would be complaints of how professional Mark Sloan has been to his plot. They were unfair to her husband that did a a great work on SGH and she was happy for her brother-in-law, she didn't feel jealous of his accomplishment because she knew he was a great name to the position as well. She just felt sorry for herself but especially for Mark.

"Dr Karev, congratulations are in order" said Liz as she joined him and Lexie to have lunch

Usually the gang tries to get lunch together but rarely the seven of them make it together. Today the two brunettes were on surgery and Alex caught up with Mark all the new responsibilities he was taking from that moment on and the others couldn't wait for them and got their lunch earlier.

"Thanks, Liz, I was so excited but now I know all the things I am supposed to do on a daily basis I am not so sure it will be that great" he said

"I am sure you will make it, Alex" said the older brunette

Lexie has been quiet during the small exchange of her friends and it didn't go unnoticed by Liz

"What's up Little Grey? The end of world must be close when you are not rambling like crazy" said Liz lightly

"No, it is nothing, sometimes I do get quiet Dr Ross" said Lexie concentrating on her food

"Ow, ow, ow. What's up with the Dr Ross thing?" asked Liz

"I am trying to be professional in our professional environment" she simply replied

"Dude, has Mark missed his touch?" Alex asked and he and Liz laughed but Lexie was still serious

"Seriously Lexie, what happened? You know you can talk to us" said Liz concerned about her friend

"I don't want to talk about it." she said

"Okay, but when you are up to, you know you can count on me" said Liz

"Thanks, Liz, it is not personal though, I ensure you" she said to both of her fellow doctors

"Liz, Meredith asked me to invited you and John to a dinner tonight at home" said Alex changing the subject

"Sure thing. I'll talk to him. Is it to celebrate your promotion?" she asked

"Yeah. She already talked to Mark, Lexie"

"Sure" Lexie answered and that was her last word for the rest of their lunch, which wasn't really long

* * *

Everyone was happily talking in the dinner table. The kids were in the playpen Meredith had there for Johnnie, as Cristina often visited the boy's godparents. Owen was catholic and though Cristina was Jew she agreed to have a Catholic baptism because she surely wouldn't circumcise her little boy and she somehow wanted Meredith to be officially linked to her son. Meredith's house was still like Cristina's second house and the little boy was just crazy about his godmother, so Meredith kept the playpen and some toys for her favorite kid. Serena would come sometimes along with her parents, especially when Mark and Lexie also came and so the two kids always had a safe place to play as their parents, aunts and uncles talked and drank some wine.

"How does it feel to be chief?" asked John to Alex

"No fun" said Alex answering and turning to Mark "I don't know why people fight over chief positions. It is driving me crazy and it is only day one"

"You will get used in no time and will you start enjoying it" Mark said "Also it is nice for you to get some leadership skills, you could sure make use of this experience for when you assume a department"

"And that won't take so longer" said Liz

Alex blushed at the compliment of his friend but he also knew she wasn't talking overall. Mark has been looking for someone to replace Dr Morrison but he couldn't find anyone that would actually justify firing their current asset

"I bet it won't" said Meredith, proud of her husband

"You can already count with the position in the Grace, we all know Albert isn't the ace of medicine" said Lexie slight bitterly and everyone felt uncomfortable in the table

It wasn't any secret that Mark has already been working to keep Alex, Meredith and Cristina on Grace but it wasn't a real deal yet especially when the hospital had such great talents on Meredith specialty.

"Not so fast, Little Grey, not so fast" said Cristina as clearly no one would speak up

"I am sure my dearest husband has already done everything exactly right to get it. Hopefully he won't use all cards under his sleeve at once and will actually be able to get me a spot when I finish it as well but wait, I am not sure he can use it with me, as I am his wife" she said

"I think you should drop it already, Lexie" whispered Liz who was seat by her side "You know you are making Alex and Meredith uncomfortable"

Lexie looked to her sister who cleared wasn't amused with the conversation and immediately felt guilty. She didn't want to worry her sister who was clearly happy about her husband accomplishment. Also she knew Meredith avoided this career talking more than the plague.

"Sorry guys, it is just I am a little tired of all this talking and all this cold shoulders we have every time any of us gets something in the hospital just because all of us are somehow linked to Mark. I am tired of the mean comments and I got really frustrated that I was immediately discarded to the position because I'm married to the chief of surgery." Lexie confessed

"There is nothing to apologize, Lexie, we know how unfair they are to Mark. He has done nothing but the best for the hospital and we came from 12th place in the ranking to 2nd in just two years and a half" said Meredith

"I told you Lexie, I didn't want you to get it now exactly because I want to keep you when you finish your residency. Shelley already got in, the board approved her name and you know will be hard to get another neurosurgeon. If I let you run for the position now and you eventually wins there will be talking and when you finish your residency it will be worse"

"Sorry Lexie, I didn't know you wanted the position" said Alex slightly guilty

"Alex, you won because you proved to be the best man for the job. It is not about what I want, it is about what I am eligible to" honestly said his sister-in-law

The tension could be cut with a knife and Liz realizing it whispered something on her husband's ear, who just nodded in agreement

"Well, I didn't want to spoil Alex's celebration with some news but I think it would be great to share it with you guys now. We were planning to make a barbecue this weekend to let you know but now we can just meet and eat to get fat, no lame excuses" she said chucking and the others followed

John reached for his wife hand over the table and announced "We are going to be parents again" he said with the biggest grin on his face

"Oh, Liz!!!" said Lexie and immediately hugged her friend "That's great, little Sassy will love it" she said referring to the eighteen months old that was so much like her mother

"I hope so, because at home my sisters were always jealous when the attention wasn't on them anymore" she said as Cristina and Meredith also congratulated her

"I have some Cubans here" said Alex as he left to get the cigarettes for the guys

"You don't smoke around a pregnant woman, Alex, go outside" said Meredith

"I know, Bossy" he said and the guys followed him

"When you guys are done I'll serve dessert" she completed winking to her husband

"How far along are you? When you guys found out" Lexie asked excitedly

"Thirteen weeks. We found about a month and a half ago but we wanted to reach the second trimester before announce. We didn't want it to happen again" the smile faded of her face. When Serena was seven months old Liz had a miscarriage on her eleventh just after their big announcement to her family and friends. It has been a great disappointment

"Everything will be alright" said Meredith reassuring her close friend

"Alex was great with us, Mer. He encouraged John and I to wait a few for my body to heal and keep trying and I am not sure we would try if he wasn't so understanding and thoughtful. Your husband is amazing, we will always be thankful to both of you." she said teary

"You see? He was right. We weren't just being friends when he said there was nothing wrong with you and you would have as many children as you wanted. He knew it and I trust him as a doctor, that's why I kept bugging you that you were okay" Meredith said squeezing Liz's hands

"You were never a bugger" she said embracing Mer "And that's why John and I want you and Alex to be our grandparents"

"Oh, Liz" said Meredith also teary "It would be an honor but are you sure your sisters won't kill you?" Meredith asked

"Yeah, I'm positive"

"Hey, did Alex know you were pregnant and didn't tell me?" asked Meredith as the thought crossed her head

"No, I asked one of my interns to collect my blood and I sent to the lab, at 2am, so I'd know no one would find out"

"Smart move, Liz" said Cristina who left to check the kids and just reentered the room "Grace's nurses don't miss a thing"

"I know, that's why I told my intern I had to do a test to prove to my annoying husband I didn't have anemia and I wasn't any pale" she said and the four women laughed

"I need to have classes with Liz" said Lexie "I'd never think about it"

"You need to stop caring about what they say, Lexie" said Cristina seriously "If they think Mark is favoring any of us, let they think. He wouldn't try to keep bad or average residents in the hospital, even if it is his wife because his job depends in the success of his team. I've been on your shoes with Burke and Owen. Don't you remember all the lies and gossip they said when I was pregnant with Johnny?"

"I know but I can't. Mark works so hard. He had worked his ass to put Seattle Grace back in the top3 surgery programs and now he is working even harder to keep it there. My sex life speaks volumes about his dedication to the hospital. I get frustrated because it blows my chances but I get really mad on how unfair these people are to him."

"So shut them up" Liz said surprising them all

"Why do you guys think they keep the comments on me to minimum? Mark says to anyone I am his sister, so I am family but still when I get a promotion, when I assumed his place and become the head of plastics no one said a word because I shut them up. Next time someone gives you the cold shoulder or says any bullshit, shut them up. Say them how the hospital improved his position in the ranking, how Mark just signed a ten years contract as chief of surgery, say how many residents finished their residencies in the last two years are on very respectable position in the biggest hospitals of this country. If what hurts you the most is how they are unfair to your man, you stand up for him and shut them up. Ignore or cry just makes it worse" Liz said and the four of them got silent

* * *

A few moments later the men joined them and Meredith served the dessert and not longer after it their guests started to lead to their houses

Purposefully Liz and John waited until anyone left to have a moment with Alex and Meredith

"Alex, thank you so much. We wouldn't fulfill our dream if it wasn't for you, the two of you. Thanks for your support as a doctor and as a friend" Liz said hugging him

"I only did my job as both, friend and doctor" he said man-hugging John

"Don't be a stranger, Sassy, you haven't been here for ages and Auntie Mer missed you" Meredith said kissing the little girl and handing her to her father

"We are very happy you guys accepted our invitation to godparent our child" said John to his friends "It means a lot to Liz and me"

"I'm honored, man" said Alex honestly

"And now I can only wait for you guys to give some cousins to Serena and the baby and before you look to the ground or pretend I didn't say it you two pay attention" Liz said "You could help John and me to let our fears behind us but you can't help yourself and your own wife" she said with authority

"And you missy, until when you are going to drool over the babies in the hospital nursery, the babies you treat and your godson? You are crazy to be a mother, so you let your husband know it and talk about it with him" she completed

"Liz, it is not…" Meredith started but was cut off by her friend

"Mer, we love you guys and you are great friends. All of us know you and Alex have some communication block but Cristina never let us to talk to you about it. She threatened to kick our asses and while Lexie, Mark and Owen are afraid of her, I am not. You guys need to talk. Talk about your future next year when your residencies are over, talk about the babies, plan something that won't happen in the next two weeks!"

"I only kept silent before because I didn't want to invade your space but we will be in the same family very soon, you guys are the people I am trusting my baby, so you mean a lot to me and I won't let the two people I love this much be miserable because they are plenty stupid" she said

"Well, I said it and now I feel a ton was took off my shoulders, so I can go home and have passionate sex with my husband" she said kissing Mer in the face and then Alex

"See you guys at work" she said and turned to leave as her friends stood there astonished not only about her speech but also how she just pretended she didn't say a word

"Say bye to Aunt Mer and Uncle Alex, Sassy" said John

"Bye" the little girl said already sleepy

"Bye, sweetie" both Alex and Meredith said

"I apologize if Liz offended you guys somehow, she is this force of nature that no one can stop but you should know she is always right" John said with that he left

Meredith and Alex took a brief look to each other and didn't know what to say and silence reigned between the Karev's as they took their separate ways inside the house.

* * *


	6. In The Mood to Talk

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 5 - In the Mood for Talk**

* * *

During the four years and a half Alex and Meredith have been together, there were prospects of progress but that never ended as real progress. They weren't committed enough to it, they were deadly committed to each other but they didn't think they needed to put any further effort in their marriage neither in themselves.

**Flashback starts**

"_Meredith, it is great that you made such progress and said 'yes' but we are just in the beginning, there is so much more you could benefit from this" said Wyatt_

"_No, you do not understand. I didn't have to think, I didn't have to fight any other feeling. When Alex asked me if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, the only answer in my heart was 'yes', that was all I wanted. In fact it was shouting YES, YES, YES. I am ready to start a new life" she said with confidence_

"_I am happy for you, Meredith, I really am but this was just the first step. There is so much we need to talk, there is so much you still need to face and leave behind for good"_

"_I think I can take it from now, Dr Wyatt but I am forever thankful for your help" Meredith said standing up and leaving the office of her therapist._

**Flashback ends**

They didn't admit to each other but the words Liz said were stuck on their minds. They knew she was right and they knew they needed to communicate but still they didn't talk. Meredith went straight to the kitchen and washed the dishes. Alex has dived in the paperwork he brought home.

"I am going to bed" she said in the door of his office, on Izzie's old room

"I'll be there as soon as I finish it, I am getting used to the stuff. Hopefully I won't need to bring it home everyday" he said half smiling

"Okay" she answered and lead to their bedroom.

She didn't know if she should start the conversation or not, if she should wait for him or not. She decided to read a book and sleep, if he came before, maybe they would talk if he didn't, she would sleep and the conversation would be buried again.

* * *

Alex took more than he expected to finish his job and when he went to bed, at 1:25am, Meredith was soundly sleeping.

He fell asleep very soon but his peace didn't last much. Since he got Sarah's rapper in jail the horrible nightmares that used to be so common lessened and he hardly had any bad dream about it but suddenly they were back. Though his biggest demon was now rotting in jail for 35 years and would never been on parole, the years his father abused his mother and Josh's tragic death were still very alive on his memory, especially Josh. He never got over how drugs killed his brother and he would never admit that Joseph's suicide hit him.

Sometimes these moments crossed his thoughts and he felt like his family was cursed. He looked around and didn't know of any other family that had been through all this sort of things. He was afraid, he was afraid of the next bump. He had Meredith now and things had been going smoothly, oddly smooth. Their avoidance issues were never this hard and he felt something horrible was about to come. He was like a little boy afraid of the monster coming out of his closet during his sleep. Life was never easy but now, having to live just avoiding to take some decisions was like a cupcake walk.

When the screaming started, Meredith woke up startled.

"Shh, honey, is only a bad dream" said Meredith softly nudging her husband for him to wake up and after a few attempts he finally woke up

"I am here, sweetie, you are fine, we are fine" she said softly brushing his lips

"Sorry to wake you up again" he said kissing her cheek

"It is okay." She said. She had never asked what those dreams were about but she really wanted to know

"It isn't. It is always the same crap" he said annoyed

"And what would the same crap be?" she finally ask remembering of the words Liz said earlier. They needed to talk of whatever came into their lives and now it was his bad dreams.

"It is stupid, don't worry" he said simply

"It isn't stupid if they are never gone" she said caressing his head

"It is the same old stuff with my family" he said trying to end the conversation

"But everything is fine with Alice, Sarah, Joan and us" she said

"And this is exact the problem" he said without thinking

"What do mean?" she asked not understanding him

"Forget it, Mer, let's get back sleeping" he said turning his back to her and hoping for her to drop it

"No, Alex, what do you mean? Everyone is fine and this is the problem? Why?"

He didn't answer but she wasn't giving up so easily. His nightmares has always let her concerned about him. They have become rare in the last years but now they seemed to be back, it was the fourth maybe the fifth time Alex had a nightmare that month and though they never pressured each other to talk about their issues, she couldn't see the man she loved hurting like that and just keep ignoring it.

"Alex, I am not done here. What did you mean?" she asked annoyed

Again she was met by silence.

"Don't you trust me? How do you expect for me to open up to you if you are not willing to open up yourself to me? I am your wife, for God's sake" she said frustrated

Seeing he was hurting her with his silence he rolled over and looked at her

"My family is fucked up. We all are fucked up and two of us are already dead. It is like a curse and now everything is fine and I keep having dreams that I am losing you or my sisters. It never goes away and I can't lose any of you, especially you" he said, his voice cracking

"That's not gonna happen. We are all fine, there is nothing wrong. Joan and Sarah are going great on New York and LA and your mother is half of her time visiting the three of you, she is fine too" she said trying to assure her husband

"You don't know how it feels Mer" he said

"Of course I know, I am afraid of losing you and Lexie and though I am not close to Molly, Laura and Nate I am afraid to lose them as well"

"But it is different, Mer. You had issues, mainly caused by your mother, who is gone, but my family? We seem cursed. Abuse, drugs, rape and suicide. That's huge" he said hoping she wouldn't think he was despising or diminishing her pain

"I know these are more traumatic but everything has an end. It is over for almost 10 years now, can't you see it that you guys are going well for almost 10 years? Sarah recovered, your mother recovered, Joan is even dating a fellow lawyer, you are married" she said

"But we never know until when it will last" he answered

"It doesn't have to change, it won't change, you guys were already hurt for a lifetime" she tried. She was doing her best to reassure him as he did the few times she opened up to him

"You don't know that, nobody does"

"And how do you know things will be messed up again? We are fine Alex"

"Yeah, you are right, I am such a chick" he said half smiling

"Hey, you are not a chick, you and your family have been through a lot and you got used to the pain and when it doesn't hurt anymore it like you are missing something it doesn't seem right or lasting I know the feeling pretty well"

"Can I ask you something?" he said

"Sure"

"Do you really want to have a baby?"

"A baby?" she asked moving on her side of the bed

"Yes, do you want to be pregnant? He asked

"I am not different of any other woman, Alex" she answered trying to avoid the real answer for reasons she didn't understand

"So you want a baby?"

"It crossed my mind" she said sliding in the bed, beneath her comforter

"I see" he only answered and thought about it. To be honest it has crossed his mind as well. But it was only this, a vague thought or a long term plan, so long that he didn't need to actually start planning

Meredith was surprised by his question but especially by his tone. His voice was soft and she could swear it was hopeful as well.

Remembering again of what Liz has said earlier she took the strength she had and sit in the bed again

"I thought I could get pregnant on the last months of our residency and I could postpone a year to figure out where I'd work. I would follow you whenever you go, I don't mind to follow you" she rambled and looked to him to see his reaction

"You mean you would stop working for some months?" he asked curious

"You know the chances for us to get a job in the same city, let alone in the same hospital are slim. So I could follow you and after you get into a hospital it would be easier for me to get a spot there. We could make good use of the network" she completed still insecure of what he would say

Alex was surprised. They never talked about kids since her non-pregnancy, because this was a tricky subject to Meredith. He didn't want to bring back the bad memories that she worked so hard to let behind her and now all of sudden she was talking about giving up on her job for a child? Did she want this much to be a mother? How long has she been thinking about it and how clueless was he?

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she whispered

"It is a good plan" he answered honestly

"To follow you?" she asked giving him an out

"Being pregnant next year and I doubt you would not work even if it is for a few months until I am settled" he said smiling

"So you think pregnancy is a good idea?" she asked hopeful

"I love to be with you and I could have only you for the rest of my life but sometimes I want more, you know? A mini-you would be amazing" he completed

"Are you serious?" she asked

"Yes, I am, there is nothing I want more than have children with you Meredith Karev" he said kissing her lightly

"Have you been thinking about it too?" she asked with an easy smile on her face

"Not exactly. It is more like a possibility than a plan. It has crossed my mind a few times but because of what happened on our 2nd year I avoided thinking about it. I didn't know what you think about it and I was afraid if I brought up the topic you would opposite" he said

"I've been thinking about it non-stop for a few months" she confessed

"So much for only crossing your mind, hun?" he asked her chucking

"Just because it crossed a lot of times, on a daily basis, basically during all my vacant time in the hospital and at home, it doesn't mean I can't say it crossed" she rambled

"I told you could talk to me about anything" he said rubbing her hair

"I know but you have to admit you don't talk to me either. We don't talk Alex. Liz is right. We are the non-talking couple, we are avoiders, we are afraid"

"But if we want to have a child together we will need to start talking" he said, happy that she admitted they had a problem and was freely talking about it

"I know we need to start talking" she sighed

"I think we already did" he said kissing bringing her close to him and hugging her tight

"This was the first step and I am happy we are communicating" he completed

"Yeah, me too" she said

They were both silent, thinking about what just happened and what they just decided

Parenthood was certainly one of the biggest challenges to anyone but it was especially challenging to Meredith and Alex who had crappy childhoods. Alice was a saint and Alex loved his mother but the screams and crying he heard as a child and the roughness of his father weren't easy. He was the older one and soon his mother had to give attention to his brothers. He had to step up and face his father when he was only 11 years old and when he was 15 he was strong enough to kick him out of their house. But at least he had Alice, especially when his father was on tour with the band. Meredith didn't have one parent at all. Thatcher had abandoned her and though Ellis was there it was like she never was. Meredith had been totally neglected and she didn't have a model to follow. While she had no idea of how a good mother was, she was sure of what she would never be to her child. She would never let it feel like it was a burden or shit. She would ensure it was loved and planned by her and Alex but she didn't know anything in addition than this

"Are you ready to be a father?" she murmured on his chest

"I don't think anyone is ready until the moment comes but I am 31 years old, it is not like I am a boy so I will figure it out, maybe I'll take a year or two, but I'll figure it out" he said also not feeling confident

"This has nothing to do with age" she said

"I know but that's my plan, that in two years I'll know better than now. I have all these months to get ready so it's important to plan" he said

"I don't know if I'll get ready in two years" she said fearfully. She had always dream about it but now that they were actually talking about it she was afraid to bring a child to this world

"You are already ready, Mer, you will make a great mom. You are great with Johnny, Sassy, Laura, Nate and the kids in the hospital. They all love you and you are their favorite"

"You think?" she asked sitting in the bed and looking to him

"I know" he said pecking her lips

They were silent and Alex was almost falling asleep again

"Thank you" she said

"For what?" he asked half sleeping

"For being the most perfect husband I could ask for" she said honestly

"You changed me, Meredith, I wanted to be a better man because I loved you. I knew you weren't the girl next door and neither was I the next guy. We had issues, we have issues and I knew I had to be better than that to be with you"

"I love you Alex" she said

"I love you Meredith"

And after a few minutes both fell asleep, dreaming and thinking about how right it felt.


	7. The SGH Redemption – Part I

**

* * *

You And Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 6- The SGH Redemption; Part I**

* * *

They never felt that good. It didn't hurt and though it was hard to take the first step, the next ones seemed much easier. They had a plan and though they talked a bit more about it in the following days they weren't ready to share it with their friends especially because they often overreact about the slightest change on Mer and Alex's lives. Anyway she knew Liz was different and she could talk to her.

Since the night they celebrated Alex's promotion, Liz and John were more often with Alex and Meredith. They enjoyed their company and despite Liz speech that night, the only she ever gave to them, John and Elizabeth kept their opinion about Alex and Meredith's life to themselves.

"So you really don't mind to take a look on Sassy tonight?" asked Liz for the thousandth time that night

"I really don't, Liz, you know Sassy and I are great friends" she said taking the girl and placing her in the playpen "and also I could get some training" she said quietly the last part

"So you guys talked?" Liz asked excitedly

"We did. We agreed to wait until next year because of the residency. I want to be one of those lazy pregnant women that do nothing but spending their days thinking about nursery and baby's clothes" she said smirking

"That's great, Mer, I am happy for you guys and I am sure after the first month you will die bored and beg for a job" said Liz

"Alex said the same thing but we will see. I will use this free time to make some plans to open my practice. It takes time to have the place, to get the furniture, the staff hired and trained and everything I will need, especially if Alex wants to share it. I won't be knitting Liz, I did it once and it didn't work out well" she said

"Sounds like a perfect plan" the brunette said

"Anyway, I didn't say it to anyone in the gang, if you want to share with John, it's okay but we don't want the guys to know for awhile"

"Sure I won't say a word" she said hugging her friend "Sassy be good to Aunt Meredith" she said to her daughter that was already in the playpen

"Maybe she shouldn't be that good so I can have a real practice" Meredith said and both women laughed out loud

"Be careful with your wishes" said Liz "I gotta go, John must be growing annoyed in the car"

"Enjoy your night" said Meredith

She waited for her friend to enter her car and closed the door

"So, what do you want to do tonight, Sassy?" asked Meredith to the little girl that were now playing with a blue stuffed elephant

"Picess!" the infant answered

"Aunt Meredith will take your princess doll" said Meredith as she opened the bag Liz left with clothes, toys and cookies

* * *

Meredith and Serena were playing now in the living room when Alex arrived

"Hello, beautiful" he said kissing his wife in the cheek

"Hey, honey, how was your day?" she asked

"Quiet but at least I could finish my paperwork in time to get home to dinner" he said and then got Serena on his arms "Who is the sassiest toddler in the world? Who is" he asked as he threw the little girl in the air, catching and throwing her again leading her to laugh

"How was yours?" he asked to Meredith as he kept playing with Serena

"As boring as any day at home is" she said

"And you think you will stay at home after you finish residency"

"I am not carrying 20 pounds on my stomach, I will be exhausted" she said

"Whatever you say Mer, I doubt it" he said now tickling the brunette girl in the couch

"Can you take a look at her while I make dinner?" she asked

"Need any help?" he asked suspiciously

"No Alex, I won't set the house on fire"

"I am not so sure" he said

"I got frozen lasagna" she confessed as she threw one of Serena's stuffed animals right in his head

"Okay then" he said smirking and playing with Serena

"Do you think she can eat it?" Meredith asked unsure

"You are a pediatric surgeon, you tell me if a 19 months old can eat a piece of pasta, with some cheese and tomato sauce" he said catching Sassy and following Meredith inside the kitchen

"Follow your instincts, you take an excellent care of those kids in the hospital" he said

"But I don't feed them, or change their diapers or watch their sleep" she said uneasy

"How many times have we taken care of Sassy, Laura, Nate and Johnny? How many times did you have problems feeding them, or watching them at night when Molly let both kids to sleep over? Name someone that can't change diapers?" Alex put Serena in the playpen and turned back to Meredith

"I know but what if I do something stupid? We are going to be godparents of her brother or sister, Liz trusts me to keep her baby safe" she said

"Hey, look at me Meredith"

She did as she was said. He looked deep in her emerald eyes and held both of her hands

"You will be a great mother. You already are a great godmother, a great pediatric surgeon and a great Aunt" he assured his wife

"I know but I can't help. When I am in the OR I know exactly what to do and I have control and if I lose any of those little angels I know I've done my best" she said taking the lasagna and bringing it to the microwave

"Honey, you already proved to know exactly what to do when any of the kids are here and we still have time to learn. We will train the most we can with Johnny and Sassy and with Laura and Nate when Molly visits. Trust me when I say you will be great" he said kissing her cheek "I'll go play with Sassy until dinner is ready, do you want me to make a salad?"

"No, thanks" she said turning to program the microwave according to the instructions in the box

"Wait, children should eat some vegetables, right? I'll make a salad for Sassy" she said running to the fridge

"Meredith, is okay, whatever you do, Sassy is only having this one meal here, she doesn't need to eat nothing tonight except what you have for her"

"Right, you are right, sorry I'm freaking out but I'll be fine"

"I know you will"

* * *

"She looks like an angel when she is sleeping" said Meredith a couple of hours later. They had dinner and played with Serena until the little girl fell asleep on Alex's lap

"She is adorable" he said carefully standing up

He took the toddler and laid her on her stroller

"When Liz said she would be back?" he asked joining his wife again in the couch

"I don't know, long enough for them to have dinner and some sex?" Meredith asked giggling

"Well so I think it is going to take a while"

"Yeah, Liz said it is really hard to have time for themselves when Sassy is around"

"So we should offer to take care of her more often" Alex suggested

"Oh, how thoughtful is my husband?" Meredith asked sliding her head to his chest

"Very thoughtful, they will have a lot to make up for us when our little spawns arrive" he said smirking

"So that's you plan?" she asked hitting his arm

"Hey, don't be violent, there is an infant in the room" he said "But you know what we can also do?" he asked

"What?"

"Enjoy our free time while we can" he said sliding his hand under her sweat pants

"Alex, I am sure Liz wouldn't appreciate us to have sex with her daughter in the room"

"So let's go upstairs, I barely saw you this week"

"You saw me plenty of times, we work together, we live in the same house"

"You know what I mean"

"I remember you got some Tuesday" she said removing his hand from her panties

"Today is Saturday, I miss you" he said trying to get his hand back underneath her clothes

"Alex" she groaned as he got his hand under her panties

"I know you want me too baby" he said reaching for her clit

"I want you, pretty bad" she said and then took his hand away from her and jumped from the couch "But I won't have sex with you until Liz gets Sassy"

"I'll take a cold shower" he said frustrated

"Why don't you wait for me and we can have hot bath in the tub instead of cold showers" she said seductively

"I think it is a great idea" he said turning the TV on some sports show

* * *

Forty minutes later Liz and John finally arrived and took Sassy. Meredith could see on Liz's face the night had been great. They talked no longer than ten minutes and headed home with an asleep Serena

Meredith prepared the tub for them and few minutes later Alex joined her

"You know you look really sexy with your hair up this way" he said kissing the back of her neck leading her to moan

"And you are really sexy when you are wearing nothing" she said bringing her hand to his hard member and caressing it

"Oh, Meredith, I want you, baby, I want you right here, right now" he said as she stroked his penis

"Not so fast, boy" she said turning around and sitting in front of him stroking him faster

He tilted his head back and relaxed on her soft touch. She knew exactly how to drive him crazy and to slow down when he was about to release

"Meredith" he moaned as she held his cock harder

"You want me?" she climbed over his body whispered kissing and biting his earlobe

"I want to thrust you deep and hard, baby" he said moving both hands to her hips and bringing her body down. He moved inside of her with one single movement and her loud groan turned him on even more

He slowly started the thrusts and in some minutes their bodies were moving really fast against each other. Meredith was the first to release and briefly after her, Alex also came

"Tub sex is the best" he said as she turned her back to him again, sitting in the middle of his legs and relaxed over his muscles

"I can't get tired to make love to you, anywhere, everywhere" she said on her husband arms

"Can't wait for pregnancy sex swings" he said kissing her neck

"Do you think it can be any hotter?" she giggled as he massaged both of her boobs

"I wouldn't doubt, we are talking about you here"

"Maybe we can come back to our routine when we started dating" she said

"I can guarantee you we might break it" he said still caressing her body

"Well there was that week when he had what, fifteen times? I remember the Saturday we had off we made it at least three times"

"I am all for twenty" he said as his arousal grew again

"Are you complaining of our sex life, Alex?" she asked feeling his cock getting hard against her back

"I am not, I am sure most people won't have sex this much after four years"

"I am sure they don't"

"So let's improve this week number" he said raising her body and thrusting on her from behind

"Alex" Meredith yelled as she felt his hard member entering her again and they went for it one more time before heading to bed

* * *

"Don't want to go" said Meredith hitting the snooze button on the alarm

"I'll go first" said Alex standing up and going to the bathroom

Fifteen minutes later he was ready to work and before going downstairs to prepare their breakfast he opened the blinds knowing the light would finish the job and Meredith would be up in a few minutes

"Don't want to go" she said again as he left their bedroom

"Don't want either but we need to, I'm going to make us breakfast" he said and left

Meredith felt her body heavier than usual. It was more than her usual laziness to wake up at 5:00 in the morning. She couldn't point out exactly what it was but she felt like she could sleep all day long and maybe the following week. She felt like the gravity was now twice stronger and she was about to surrender when Alex came back to the bedroom

"Mer, we are going to be late. It is 5:40am already and you are still in the bed" he said annoyed

"I am on my way" she said taking all her strength to stand up.

She brushed her teeth and when she was changing she felt a bit dizzy. She held on the opened drawer in front of her and regaining her balance

Something was off. Maybe it was their sex marathon last night. As a married couple, living together for more than two years their sex life wasn't the same anymore. They rarely made love more than once by night and twice in the bathtub was enough to drain her energy and also have pain on her legs and hips

Trying to save some time she took a cup of coffee to go and they left to the hospital.

That Sunday was only the two of them. The rest of the gang was off. Cristina had a shift on Friday night and Lexie on Saturday. Liz and Mark rarely came to the hospital in the weekend, except when a pretty bad emergency came in.

When Alex and Meredith finish their residency their reality won't be as pleasing. OB/Gyn was demanding and babies don't really care if it is a weekend, early in the morning or late at night, when they wanted to get out or at least pretend to get out, they just do it. Dr Morrison spent at least one Saturday and one Sunday on call by month and still sometimes it seemed like it wasn't enough.

Children were also very unspecific. They were always getting hurt or sick and their worrying parents wouldn't think twice before bring them to the ER. Meredith understood them completely and she knew she picked a very demanding specialty but still she couldn't help, she loved the little ones since her first day in the hospital. The nursery was her favorite place at time and her specialization would be definitely neonatal.

It was a quiet morning and Meredith took the time to sleep in the on call room. Alex had a delivery but the mother's dilatation was still six and it would take another hour or two to finally be the ten he needed. Instead of make company to his wife, he always used his free time to take care of paperwork and the schedule of the second and third year residents. He had to calculate their OR time, their shift hours, evaluate each of them and gather the evaluation of the residents and attendings. It was a non-ending work but he enjoyed it. It challenged him to follow closely each of the residents and interns of Seattle Grace and it paid off when some of them showed notorious progress. He was proud of his team and he was proud for the trustworthiness they had on him. He was in the residents locker room when he was paged. It was Liz.

Meredith didn't really sleep, she just laid there, in one of the beds, thinking about small things. She was also interrupted by her page. 911, Liz.

Alex arrived there first but Liz was nowhere to be seen.

Just after him Meredith arrived, running, still feeling very tired from their last night she regained her breath in the corner, holding the wall and looking around for Liz

"Were you paged as well?" Alex asked. He noticed she gasping for air and though it was unusual for her to get this tired from running just a few steps he brushed the thought from his mind, worried about their friend

"Yes" she said

"Liz?" he asked and she nodded

"I'm going to call her cell" Meredith said when the doors of the ER opened revealing Liz with an unconscious Serena on her arms

"Oh my God" Meredith said immediately losing her balance

Alex was quick and got his wife

"Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded moving towards Liz who just laid Serena in one of the stretchers

"What happened?" Meredith asked

"She got a fever was really high and she had a seizure" Liz said crying while Meredith listened to Serena's heart "My baby had a seizure" she said

* * *


	8. The SGH Redemption – Part II

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 7 - The SGH Redemption; Part II**

* * *

"Are there any changes you notice in the last week?" Meredith asked as Serena fluttered her eyes and began to cry as soon as she woke up

"I don't know, how am I supposed to know? She spends most of time in daycare" Liz said trying to calm her daughter by caressing her hair which only made Serena cry louder

"Where is John?"Alex asked

"Parking the car"

"Maybe he knows something"

"On Friday the teacher told me Serena was very irritated – which is not common, yes she is sassy but she is always a very happy girl"

"Is she eating fine? Yesterday she didn't eat much of the lasagna but you told me she doesn't really like pasta" Meredith said taking her temperature

"Yesterday on lunch she barely ate but it was because John let her eat ice cream" Liz said

"Sweetheart" said John as he reached the group of doctors "Daddy is here" he said to his crying baby

"I'm going to run some labs. Is there anything different you noticed John?" Meredith asked

"No, she has been a bit quieter and irritated in the last couple of days but that was it"

"We thought it was teething. Her back teeth are now erupting and she was like this when the first ones erupted" Liz said

Meredith was stripping Serena's clothes to finish her body exam when she noticed very little blue spots on her legs

"Have you noticed these?" Meredith asked them

"I am sure yesterday there weren't any and this morning I changed her diapers almost in the dark because Liz was still sleeping and Sassy slept with us" said John

"Because she was fussy and I thought it was her teeth. She had a seizure Meredith, please find out what's wrong with my baby, please" Liz said sliding down in the wall and sitting in the floor

"I already took her blood samples and I am going to send to the lab now, as high priority. Let's wait for the results if everything is okay, I'll have an MRI" said Meredith "Everything is going to be alright, Liz" she said crouching in front of her friend

"It is not alright, Mer, my baby had a seizure during breakfast, this is not okay" she said

"I'll stay with her, Meredith" said John moving his hand to Meredith's shoulder "Please, take care of Sassy for us" he said

"I will" Meredith said confidently

"Do you want me to call Dr Silver?" asked Alex

"Not yet, I think I know what she has. Stay with them and also get someone to move Serena to a room, I don't want her in the PIT, she might have an infection and I don't want her to be exposed to anything else. I'll go personally ask the labs to be run and come back to stay with them. Page me her room" she said leaving

* * *

Meredith was almost sure of what Serena had but she wanted to take a look into her results before alarming Liz. When they came back an hour later she had the result she didn't want to see.

"Liz, John" said Meredith entering the room

"What did the results say, Mer?" Liz asked desperately

"Serena labs showed meningococcemia and we will start the medicine immediately but I also want her to have a lumbar puncture to test her for meningitis as well"

"Oh my God" said Liz moving her hand to her mouth and sitting in the chair she was sat when Meredith entered the room

"Do you think she has meningitis?" asked John cleared shocked

"I don't know meningococcemia doesn't mean she has meningitis. It is an infection in the blood stream that spreads really quickly and can cause organs failure if it is not treated quickly. For the results it is on early stage and probably the little blue spots I asked you appeared this night. We are lucky we could catch it early, it can be very dangerous if is not treated early but that's not Serena's case" Meredith explained

"Organs failure?" he asked with teary eyes and Liz cried compulsively, holding her daughter hand

"We will make our best, John" Meredith said teary

"Don't give me this shit" said Liz letting go of her baby and turning to Meredith "I know you treat kids all the time and Serena's case is not surgical. Don't give me this best we can crap, Meredith. This is not another kid, this is my daughter, you don't get to give me this best talking. I chose Plastics because I rarely have to give my patients this crappy speech, I don't do this talking to my patients and I can't have you giving it to me. You go there and save my Sassy" Liz yelled awaking Serena who immediately started to cry as well

"Elizabeth, you know I can't promise you to save your daughter, when I say we will do our best I am committing myself to you, John and Sassy that I'll give my blood to treat her and get her cured. I can promise you I will be with her night and day if I need to and that I will take care personally of every antibiotic and supportive treatment we manage. I can assure you that I'll do everything medicine can do to save your daughter. I'll even ask God for a miracle, if I need and He knows it takes a lot for me to ask Him anything, so I am sorry if I can't say anything to you except that I'll do my best" Meredith said and a few tears ran down her cheeks

"I'll take her to so the puncture. It will hurt a lot, let me know if any of you want to be there with her" Meredith said making some remarks on Serena's chart and then leaving

"Meredith" John called in the hallway

"Yes" she answered as she wiped her tears

"Please, forgive Liz's breakdown, it is our baby over there and I am sure the pediatric wing treats a lot of meningitis cases here but this is our daughter and right now Liz is not a doctor and she is not my wife or your friend, she is Sassy's mother and it is killing us to see our daughter having such pain" he said while tears fell on his face

"It's fine, John, go there, stay with Liz and Serena and if you can, be strong for them. The puncture will be very painful for Serena and maybe it is traumatic for you guys to see her. I know it has been traumatic to see her seizing and crying this hard. I'll be there with her, she won't be alone and with strangers, I don't think you and Liz should pass for this as well" she said honestly to her friend

"Thank you, Meredith" he said heading back to his daughter room

* * *

"She has meningitis?" asked Alex angrily kicking a chair

"Can she die?" he asked, falling into the chair defeated

"Yes, though the meningococcemia is on an early stage, her meningitis is advanced which makes her general condition a lot worse" Meredith said wiping a tear

"Damn it" he said burying his head on his hands

"Liz and John are devastated" she said sitting next to him

"This is not fair" he said as Cristina and Owen entered the residents room

"What happened?" she asked holding Johnny on her arms

"Sassy was admitted, she has meningococcemia and meningitis, she is ICU and it is pretty bad" Meredith said as Mark and Lexie also joined them

"Oh my God" said Cristina holding Johnny tighter

"What?" asked Mark shocked "I want to see her labs"

"Mark, I already read them a thousand of times, we are managing the antibiotics and now we can only monitor her. I just arrived from the ICU to meet you guys and I am going back there. Liz is sedated and John is trying to be strong but he will crack down at any moment"

"I go see them" said Mark

"I'll go with you" said Lexie

"Room 2134" said Alex

They left and the four that stood in the room in silence. The only noise came from Johnny who was playing with one of his toys, in his mother's arms

"What are her chances, her real chances here" asked Cristina

"I don't know, honestly I don't know. Maybe 50/50"

"I want to run some tests on Johnny" Owen said, talking for the first time

"What?" Cristina asked scared

"Meningitis is contagious, they played together last week, I want him to be tested" said Owen

"You are right" said Cristina "Meredith…" she started but her friend cut off

"Cristina… I-I-I can't" murmured Meredith "I can't make his puncture" said Meredith breaking down a little bit more "I did Serena's and her screams are still on my head"

Cristina nodded but Owen volunteered himself to make John's exam and they left

"She is going to be alright, won't she?" Meredith asked

"She has to. She has spent so much time with her lately. She grew on me" said Alex

"I'll go check on her" Meredith said and stood up, quickly falling down when she felt a strong dizziness take over her

"Meredith" Alex yelled and reached for his wife, collecting her body before she hit the chair and the floor"

"Meredith, look at me baby" he said, slapping softly her face for her to wake up. She was pale like a paper sheet and Alex grew concerned

"Baby, talk to me" he said seeing her eyelashes fluttering "What's wrong with you?" he asked

"I just felt dizzy. I didn't eat anything today, only the coffee I brought here" she confessed

"Meredith is almost 5 in the afternoon you can't not eat" he said

"I know but I completely forgot" she said "I'll go to the cafeteria before I check on Sassy and Liz"

"I'll go with you. I ate just after the delivery but I am hungry and I want to make you company when you go see them"

"Okay" she said standing up a slower but still she felt the light wave of dizziness and she held on him for support

"This morning, when Sassy arrived, you are gasping after you ran a few steps. You looked off in the morning, I realized you were moving slower. What are you feeling, Meredith?" he asked in a serious tone

"I don't know. I think I am tired from the sex yesterday" she said as they walked down to the cafeteria

"Sex wouldn't cause you this" he said

"I know but I didn't eat properly so maybe is a combination of both"

"I will take your blood and run some tests"

"Alex, I am fine, it is just this is too much"

"You spent a lot of time with Serena lately, I want you to be tested" he said

"So did you"

"I am not feeling anything"

"I am just tired"

"Meredith. You will make some blood tests for meningococcemia. I don't think you need to be tested for meningitis yet but I want your blood to be tested" he said as he took a tray "Sit down, I'll get your lunch" he said and she obeyed

She knew he could be right and she felt like there was more than just tiredness from yesterday and today events but she couldn't think about anything else but Sassy, Liz and John

"I don't know if I could do it" she said as he sat down with her in the desert cafeteria

"What do you mean?" he asked. Knowing well his wife he knew she was thinking about something else than her food or labs

"If I were Liz I don't know if I could make it" she confessed as her eyes were filled with tears "She is much stronger and braver than me and she got to be sedated. She is devastated, Lex, she may never recover from what already happened, let alone if Sassy doesn't make it" she said with her tears now freely rolling down her face as she chewed her turkey sandwich

"Hey, she will make it, okay? Let's not think or say otherwise, even if it is just hypothetically"

"I don't know what I would do"

"Me neither" he confessed surprising her and they both stayed in silence for some minutes

"I think we should wait to have a baby. The last thing I want to think now is about having a baby. Sassy is fighting for her life. I don't know how long it will take for me to get over it and it is not even my kid. We have a godson or goddaughter in the way and somehow I think it is too much maybe we should postpone our plan to a few years, until Sassy's little brother or sister is older. It is overwhelming. I was holding her yesterday. She seemed a bit different but she was still laughing on my arms and I was trying to teach her our last name and she was almost getting there and now she is on ICU and we can't even say if she will make the night" he said also in tears

"It is exhausting. I feel like I have no strength on me" she said

"Do you feel any better?" he asked and she knew he meant physically

"Not really. I am not weak as I was before but I still feel heavy" she said

"I will go check on Liz and the baby. I couldn't do it before, she wouldn't let me get close to her but now she is sedated and I'd like to take a look on both of them then I'll get your blood sample" he said and she nodded

* * *

They arrived in the room and John was there with Mark and Lexie while Liz was still sleeping

"John, I'd like to exam Liz and check on the baby to know if everything is alright" Alex said the brief silence since he and Meredith arrived

"Sure" said John quietly

"I know she has an appointment in a week and half, when she will be entering her fifth month but I'd like to check on them now"

John only nodded as Alex started pushing Liz's stretcher

"Come on" said Alex to his wife as they motioned to leave the room when John seemed to get out of the trance he was

"How is Sassy?"

"I'm going to check on her after Alex gets my blood sample. There isn't much we do except manage the medicines and monitor her. One of the residents is there while I was having lunch but I'll be there in a few" Meredith said

"Are you okay?" Lexie asked immediately

"I am feeling weak and heavy and Alex wants me to be tested" she said

"In fact you all should be tested" said Dr Bailey as she entered the room "I came to talk to you, Chief. Everyone who has been with Serena in the past week should get tested, especially you and Alex, because she was with you yesterday and John, you and Liz. I already talked to the hospital day care and they are contacting the nurses and doctors to bring their children to be tested as soon as possible. Serena is the third case in two weeks, so is already an outbreak of meningococcemia" she said

"So please Dr Karev, go ahead and exam Dr Ross and then get your blood sample"

"Yes, sir" Alex said and left with Meredith and John

"Dr Bailey, please I want this operation to be as quiet as possible. I don't want the nurses of SGH to turn this into an epidemic of meningitis"

"Yes, Chief, I'll talk to Dr Karev, I will get all of them in one of the conferences room and collect their samples by myself"

* * *

"The baby's heartbeat is strong and everything seems okay" said Alex to John how smiled – though weakly – for the first time that Sunday

"I am going to do all tests I'd do in the appointment in two weeks. I am sure Sassy will need a lot of care when she is out of here and I don't want Liz to worry about coming to the hospital to be checked" said Alex trying to offer some support to John

"Yes, sure, thanks Alex, I am not on my best state of mind now, please, do everything you can" John said

Alex started to measure the baby's height and do the checkup he needed to do while Liz woke up

"Where am I?" she asked a bit groggy

"In the hospital honey, Alex is checking on the baby" he said kissing his wife forehead

"Serena" Liz whispered

"She is fighting Liz, I just checked on her and she is fighting. She isn't worsening and that's already important. There is no change on her condition, not for best neither for worse and this is a good thing. The medicine is balancing her bloody and she will get better. The first forty eight hours are the most critical and she is doing well in the first five" Meredith said squeezing her friend's hand

"Thank you Mer, I am sorry for earlier" she said while her tears started to fall again

"Shhhh, forget about it, let's only think about Sassy" Meredith said

"In fact there is someone else to think" said Alex with a weak smile

"How is the baby?" Liz asked scared of the answer

"The baby is doing fine, I already did all scans I needed and I can print you some pictures if you want" he said to Liz now realizing the cold gel on her stomach

"Thank you" she said and looked to her husband that kissed her hand

"I already did everything I would do in our next appointment – which I am going to cancel. You will have all the time to take care of Sassy" he said sending two pictures to print

"Okay" she said quietly

"I also could see clearly the baby's sex, will you want to know?" he asked

"Yes" said John "Patience is not the biggest compliment of my lovely wife" he said

"So I am proud to announce that you are going to be parents of a baby girl. Sassy will love the news" said Alex

"Oh, John, another little girl" said Liz as John lowered down to his wife to kiss her cheek and embrace her

"I'd like to keep you in the hospital, at least for the night" said Alex "Admitted I mean" he completed knowing Liz wouldn't leave Sassy there alone, though she couldn't be in the ICU with her daughter

"I'll keep you on IV to ensure you won't dehydrate. It is definitely only for precaution"

"We'll move you back to the room. Dr Bailey is going to collect our blood samples. Mark wants everyone in the staff that had been with Sassy in the last week to be tested. We also will test the other kids in daycare, also as a precaution"

"Okay" said Liz

* * *

"I think it is safer to get your samples here. I know all of you will either be here or head home and I don't want the nurses to be suspicious about it. Though it is the procedure to anyone close to infectious diseases I don't want to exposure Liz and John to any addition burden this hospital gossip may cause" said Bailey and they agreed

Bailey collected and properly labeled each of their samples missing only Meredith who was checking on Serena

"So, I'll go get Dr Karev's sample and take it all to the lab. I'll be leaving soon so you guys can go look for your results by yourselves. I am sure any of the doctors can get yours" said Bailey to John and Liz

"Thank you Dr Bailey" said Mark

"Alright. See you guys tomorrow then" said Bailey

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?" asked Alex for the fourth time

"No, I am fine, I'll be here in the ICU, and I won't go anywhere else, except to give Liz an important update that I might have, so there is really no reason for you to stay"

"Will you call me once you get your blood results?" he asked

"Sure but I am sure it is nothing. I don't present any of the symptoms I am sure it is only stress and tiredness" she said honestly to her husband

"Okay, I love you" he said kissing her

"Love you too" she answered as they parted

"Everything will be okay"

"Yeah" she answered vaguely

"Call me" he said from the hallway

"Okay" she answered back

* * *

Meredith has spent the following couple of hours in the ICU closely monitoring Serena. She knew there was no need for her to be there the whole time but she promised her friend she would do her best for her child and she didn't want to lose any second and if something got wrong and she needed to act fast. Serena's condition was really serious and her kidneys could shut down at any moment or she could have another seizure or any other issue and Meredith wanted to be just there if anything like this happened

She was lost on her thoughts when her cell phone vibrated letting her know she had a new message

It was Alex's.

_The results, don't forget. Love ya. A._

Meredith honestly had forgotten to get their results that would have been already done by almost an hour. She immediately headed to the lab

"Results for E. Ross, J. Ross, C. Yang, A. Grey-Sloan, M. Sloan, A. Karev and M. Karev, please" she asked the guy that already had the pill of papers separated

"Thank you" Meredith said as he handed her the papers

She hasn't really paid attention in the names of each folder and at each clean result she sighed relieved. The last thing they needed was any of them in the same condition as Serena

In the fourth folder though she realized something was wrong. She checked the patient's name and thinking she was crazy, she checked the names of the ones she had already looked at: Lexie, Alex's, her own.

"Oh my God" she said as she let all the papers fall in the floor

* * *


	9. No Country For Babies

* * *

**You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 8 -No Country for Babies  
**

* * *

Meredith couldn't believe what she was reading.

_It can only be a joke, it can't be true. It can't be happening_ she thought as she got the papers from the floor

She entered the first on-call room she saw and locked the door behind her, crying compulsively

_What am I supposed to do? It shouldn't happen. It is not fair._

She has spent almost fifteen minutes in the room trying to get herself together and come back to the ICU to monitor Serena. She sat outside the ICU room and placed the tests in the table in front of her

She has been silently crying when John entered the room.

"Is everything okay, Meredith?" he asked "Is it Sassy, did something happen and you don't know how to tell us?"

"No, John, Sassy is still in the same condition, which you know is good. It is just this whole situation is not fair and I can't get over all the pain our little angel is going through. It is overwhelming. Alex is defeated, you and Liz are devastated and I am… I am just screwed"

"What do you mean, are you okay? Did you get the labs results?" he asked to his friend

"No, yes, I am sorry I am a bit confused and stressed. You don't know me for a long time, at least not intimately, the gang used to say I am dark and twisted Meredith, I am always screwed, that's all. I got the exams, none of us is infected, sorry I didn't go to say to you but I thought you were already sleeping"

"I waited for Liz to sleep but I couldn't sleep myself. In the same day I've seen the worst of the two most important people on my life. I can't say what was worse. To see Sassy seizing or to see two nurses holding my wife to be sedated because she couldn't calm herself down. I just wanted to check on Serena and maybe go for a walk. I need to regroup my thoughts and feelings and find some faith in my heart that everything will be fine" he said

"I know her condition is horrible but considering everything she is just fine now" Meredith said looking over the table to the room where Serena was "Do you want to get inside? I could get you the gown and the mask, if you want"

"No, she is sleeping, I just needed to see her" he said looking to his daughter in the hospital bed attached to many wires and tubes

"Keep the faith, John. Serena is strong and she will fight it"

"It all depends on her now, right?"

"Yeah"

"I wish I could fight for her. She is just a baby, my little baby, how is she supposed to fight a disease like this? How she can be strong enough to prevent her kidneys to shut down? She is just a baby, she is not supposed to fight for her life like this" he said running his hand through his hair

"They are stronger than we think, John. Their body is capable of things adults' bodies aren't" she tried to comfort her friend

"I would give anything to feel this pain in her place. I would give my life to bring some peace to Elizabeth. She is in pieces, Mer. She tried to seem calm but I know this woman for twelve years and I know inside she is just breaking down. Inside she is worse than she was when you had to sedate her and I am here, helpless. Both of my girls are in hell now and I can't do anything to help them"

"You are helping both, especially Liz" Meredith said "If she was able to recollect is only because she has you there with her. If Serena is fighting this disease so hard is because she knows you guys love her and she loves you. You are in deep pain as well John, as much as both of them"

"And there is this little baby, our baby girl. She is not born yet and she is already in this mess"

Meredith swallowed. There is nothing she could say to this, it was indeed totally unfair. If it wasn't fair for Serena to be through this pain, let alone her little sister. Meredith knew the little baby was affected by her mother's pain. Emotionally and physically the fetuses are attached to the mother and everything on her life since the food she eats, her lifestyle to the health has an impact on their developing lives. It wasn't fair to bring a harmless and tiny human being to this harsh world. Sometimes it sounded like irresponsibility and though she knew that's how life is supposed to go on, especially as a scientist, she didn't want to bring such pain to just an innocent life. She'd feel guilty but mainly she would feel lost and afraid.

"You should try to get some sleep" she said to the shell of a man that stood in front of her "If you want I can look for an on call room"

"I don't think I can sleep"

"I'll tell you a woman secret"

"What is it?"

"When we reach the end of the line and all we can do is hurt we cry ourselves to sleep. Sometimes we sob at first and others we just lay down and let the tears fall. We feel so exhausted by our tears and pain that the sleep just subdues everything else"

"It seems like a plan"

"Are you sure you don't want to go to an on call room? I know these chairs are not exactly comfortable"

"No, I want to be close to at least one of my girls. I'll come back to Liz"

"Okay" said Meredith

"Thank you, Mer, for everything"

She nodded and he left

Going through the folders she found her labs and thinking about what they just talked she tore her results in rage. When the pieces of paper were just too small to keep tearing she stopped and bent herself over the table crying silently. She couldn't bring herself to call Alex and share the results with him. She didn't know what to say to him and this was killing her as much as her condition. Pouring down her heart, Meredith did what she told John to do, crying herself to sleep.

* * *

Alex was growing worried about Meredith. It was past two in the morning and she hasn't called him to say her results. He has called her cell phone but it was disconnected and she didn't answer his page. He called the nurse station and one of the nurses informed him she was in the ICU with Serena. She transferred him to the lab and the guy told him Meredith has taken the results almost two hours ago, which coincided with the time he first texted her. He thanked the guy and decided to wait until the morning to check on her. She wouldn't be in the ICU with Serena if she was sick and he knew she would get a chair and just sit by the little girl's side and spend the whole night with Sassy. If something was wrong she would have let him know. Maybe she was just too tired and relieved that she forgot to answer him.

Meredith woke up a few times during the night to find Serena's condition still stable. In a few hours she should start responding to the medication. Her condition was serious and she knew at first was a good sign that she wasn't getting worse but after fifteen hours she was expected to show some progress.

Liz also woke up a couple of times and went to the ICU. Confirming with Meredith that she was healthy, she took the ICU gown and mask and spent some minutes with her daughter, making some prayers.

Liz had faith and Meredith admired it on a doctor. Most of doctors were just skeptic if not atheist or agnostic. Liz was a real Christian. She told Meredith that she stopping going to church for awhile but she came back when she got married and especially after Serena was born. She invited Alex and Meredith to the service a few times but they always declined. Meredith wanted to go but she didn't know how to have faith. This feeling or certainty, as Liz said, was something she couldn't find on herself. She didn't know how people could expect something from Someone they never met, from Someone that no one could prove that existed in the first place. In her toughest moments she had turned to God but she wasn't sure of what she was asking. She wasn't sure if there was indeed someone listening to her cries and if there This Someone really existed she didn't know if He was willing to listen to her let alone to grant her prayers.

"You can go prepare to your rounds, Meredith, I'll stay with her from now on. I know there is nothing to do actually, unless anything changes. I'll stay here. Thanks for staying with her the night" said Liz honestly

"You page me if there is any change" said Meredith as she left

* * *

"Grey" called Mark as Meredith approached the nurse station

"Yes, Chief"

"Did you get the results?"

"Yes, sir. All people tested are cleaned for meningococcemia"

"Good. How is Serena?"

"Stable"

"Okay. Thank you" he said walking towards his office

"Hey" said Alex kissing her cheek as she entered the residents' room

"You are here earlier" she said trying to escape from his lips

"You didn't call me last night" he said

"I took the results and then John came to see Serena. I talked to him and I completely forgot, I am sorry, I ended up sleeping for awhile and when I woke up was too late and I didn't want to wake you up"

"Is everything okay?" he asked noticing she was trying to avoid his touch

"No one is infected with meningococcemia. So it is good news"

"It is indeed. How are Liz and John?"

"A mess, we are all a mess, Alex. Sassy may recover and hopefully she won't have any after-effect but we will. I don't want to ever pass through this again and I don't know how I can avoid it" she said sitting down and crying

"Hey. I know this is traumatic and we won't be the same again but don't worry about it now. We already talked we are postponing the baby and with time we will get over it" he reassured his wife

"We can't control life and definitely can't control death and disease, Alex. It doesn't need to be our kid to make us feel like shit. There is Johnny, Nate, Laura, our godchild. There is you and your family and maybe you were right the other night. We are screwed up and when we think everything is fine and maybe life will cut us some slack for a while, sky falls down and things get messed up all over again" she said

"I am sorry to bring you down baby" he said holding his wife "We can't avoid any of these things but we survived them before and we will survive all the others that might come"

"I don't know Lex, sometimes enough is enough"

"Everything will be okay, Mer"

"You don't know it. You don't know the whole story, you can't say the future"

"I know but Serena will be okay and we all will be okay"

"What if it was your kid? You have no idea how John was last night"

"I am sure it would tougher if was my kid but it doesn't make this easy. I may not be her daddy and I am thankful I am not her daddy but I love her and I care about Liz and John so it affects me. Why are you saying it?"

"Because maybe we shouldn't have kids at all" she said detaching herself from him

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you think it is fair for Serena to be through so much pain? Do you think it is responsible from Liz to make the baby she is carrying go through it all while it isn't born yet? Maybe people are just selfish and simply want to have kids because they need to achieve it in their lives but they never think of what the little and innocent babies would go through. I don't want be responsible for someone's hell" she said louder

"Meredith, calm down baby. We can talk about it later and I don't feel up to have any babies either but we don't need to make this decision now. Laura and Johnny are healthy children and what happened to Serena is just a fatality that doesn't happen to everyone, you know it, you are a doctor"

"Don't give me the doctor crap, Alex"

"Okay, so what you want me to say?" he yelled frustrated

"Nothing, Alex, I don't want to you say anything, just leave me alone"

"Fine" he said leaving as Cristina entered the room

"Are you guys okay?" she asked

"Peachy" Meredith said sarcastically

"I came earlier to check on Sassy"

"She is fine"

"I know. I talked to Mark in the hallway. Are you sure you don't want to talk?"

"Yes. Listen I have to go. If my interns come in here ask them to go find me in the nurse station I need to do something"

"Okay" Cristina said knowing Meredith was hiding something but she knew she was on her edge with Serena's situation and she didn't want to pressure her person

* * *

Meredith went to the nurse station and took the telephone book with her and walked to a conference room

She looked for the number she needed and dialed it

"_Seattle Presbyterian_"

"I need to schedule an appointment with Dr Green, preferably Wednesday, 17th. If she isn't available it could be someone else of her team"

"_Name please?"_

"Meredith Karev"

"_Is 10am good for you?" _

"It is fine"

"_So it is scheduled with Dr Green at 10 am. Your number please"

* * *

_


	10. There Will Be Tears

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 9 - ****There Will Be Tears  
**

* * *

A week and a half has passed since Serena was admitted and the little girl was doing well on her recovery. She was still on ICU as her condition was really serious but she made through the worst already.

Liz and John have resumed their routine after spending one with week with Sassy in the hospital with the help of Carolyn. She has arrived a couple of days after Serena was admitted and she was the rock Liz needed to make through the last week. Though Serena wasn't released to a standard room, Meredith and Bailey assured them that she was only finishing her treatment and ensuring that she wouldn't get an infection while she was in the hospital especially because two other kids in the day care had early stages of meningitis and thankfully none had meningococcemia.

Meredith has been feeling worse by the day. Both physically and emotionally. She hasn't shared her condition with any of her friends, let alone Alex. The fact was she was confused and she didn't know what to do about it. She wanted to know how advanced her condition was to figure her options. Except for the excessive tiredness all other symptoms were subtle or non-existing and she had no idea when she would find out about it if her blood hasn't been tested. But today she felt different.

"Good morning, Meredith" said Dr Green

"Good morning"

"So why are you here, Meredith?" asked the brunette

"I need to know my options" said Meredith unsure and the doctor frowned as she looked at Meredith's chart

"Are you related to Dr Karev from Seattle Grace?" asked the brunette seeing Meredith's last name

"No, but I am a doctor myself so maybe we could skip some conversation and do the exams?" she asked

"So let's get started" said the middle aged doctor

Meredith told her about her lab results and Dr Green did her routine.

"What is your specialty?" she asked while she collected Meredith's blood sample

"Pediatrics" Meredith answered regretting the moment the words slipped her mouth

"Really?" asked the doctor surprised at first but not so much

"You know, Karev is quite an uncommon name it is just a coincidence you and Dr Karev are in the same hospital and still are not related. I've never met a Karev before and now I know two" Green asked while she wrote down some notes

"Coincidences happens all the time" said Meredith

"Sure they do. So I think I don't need to give you any education material, as you are familiar with your condition. Anyway I will make you a prescription just in case"

"Thank you"

"Meredith, I know sometimes our field is complicated and if you are treating children it may be even worse and it may affect our personal decisions. I heard about the outbreak of meningitis and that the daughter of one of the doctors on Grace almost died. I really don't know why you are thinking about giving up but just keep in mind that though we can't control life and death especially we it hit us, fighting should always be the only option because life is worth living" the elder doctor said softly

"Thank you" said Meredith with a weak smile

"Say hello to your husband for me, he is great doctor" she said smiling to Meredith. The moment Meredith mentioned she was a pediatric she knew she was Alex's wife because he has talked to Green a few months ago about getting a spot for Meredith on Seattle's Presbyterian Pediatrics' wing. Dr Green didn't understand though why Meredith lied about Alex. Obviously the young doctor wasn't sharing her condition with her husband and it wasn't Green's business but Meredith could have mentioned it anyway. Meredith knew that doctors are not allowed to share their patients' information without authorization.

* * *

Trying to ignore that she was caught in her lie, Meredith drove back to her house, it was her day off and she didn't have anything to do except think. She couldn't make a decision no matter how hard she tried. She tried to make a cons and pros' list and though she could list dozens of cons the one pro she had was strong enough to beat all cons. She didn't have much time to make a decision. In fact Dr Green told her she should decide up to the following week as her condition wasn't on an early stage as Meredith thought at first and it was already risky to make the procedure.

_How am I supposed to make the decision of my life within five days? What should I do? Alex will be devastated when he finds out and I can't hide it forever, the symptoms are going to be more and more noticeable and I am just screwed. If I go ahead, I am screwed, if I give up, I am screwed. Sometimes choosing between life and death is more difficult than we can imagine_.

She thought about talking to someone else before her final decision. Alex definitely wasn't an option. She could always talk to Cristina, or even Liz, as they were growing closer but she felt she would betray her husband more than she already did by hiding it for more than one week.

Her head started to ache and she decided she should try to relax. She prepared a hot bathtub and took one of the pills she bought on her ride to the house.

_Maybe it will help me, even if I don't do this, for now it could help me._

* * *

She has spent forty minutes on her bath and found it incredibly hard to stay in the house just thinking.

Checking their clothes she decided to do their laundry and clean the house. She couldn't think about it for one more minute or she could get crazy.

She was cleaning their bathroom when Alex arrived and embraced her from behind

"Do you have a fever?" he teased her

"No, but I do have a migraine" she answered back coldly

"Is everything okay? You seem off lately" he asked still holding her

"I am fine. Our friends' daughter almost died, our friend almost got nuts and her husband is devastated. I am just peachy. Why wouldn't I?" she said sarcastically

"Hey, you don't need to snap on me. I was just checking on you. I am your husband, I care about you and I am sure there is something else. If you don't want to talk about it, it is okay but I know you, Meredith and I know you are hiding something from me" he said detaching himself from her

"You are just not helping Alex. It has been a stressful, horrible day and now everything is turning back to normal and it is like the anesthesia is not working anymore. It was bad already while Serena's little body was under so much pain and almost collapsing but now, after the hurricane, it seems like all my strength is gone but life doesn't stop or end. We need to be back on track and move on but how are we supposed to do it? Will we ignore what just happened? Will we ignore what Liz has been through? How do we react now? We just let it behind us and go on life as it never happened? Or do we whine and cry about it endless? How can we make life decisions when life seems so unworthy?" she asked

"Hey, I am sorry, I had a long day, you weren't there so it was worse. I am sorry. I don't want to pressure you, I am honestly just worried about you. You stayed strong for everybody else. You treated Serena personally on her critical days. You were there for Liz and for John, and I am sure you feel drained but I just sensed something more, I am probably wrong and I am sorry. What can I do to make it better for you? Or at least less worse?" he asked his wife

"Give me some time. I don't know what to do now the storm is going away. I don't know what people expect me to do, I don't know how to live my life from now on and I need time to figure it out" she confessed

"Okay" Alex said and sat on their bed

Her speech has only increased his suspicions. Izzie's condition and situation has been much worse, longer and darker and still Meredith didn't react the way she did now. Why was she asking how she should go on with her life? What was there to decide? Wasn't it a natural process that all of them would go through? Liz's was a sister to Mark and therefore Serena was his niece. Cristina and Owen were horrified about Johnny getting sick as well. They were going to be godparents to Liz and John's baby and well Liz and John were Serena's parents. Everyone has been deeply affected by what happened but he was sure none of them were thinking about life decisions. They were just happy to be able to make it through the next day, then the next week, the next month… they were happy to take one day at time while Meredith seemed lost about where her life stood?

He looked at her body language carefully while she cleaned the bathroom. She looked tired and lost. At times she would stop what she was doing and just stand there, looking to nowhere, in deep thoughts. Then she would resume her actions but seemed harder for her to move and sweep the floor. She would stop and place her hand on her side or lean in the broomstick, taking a deep breath to collect strength to keep going on.

"I am going to prepare us some food" he said after spending some minutes in their bedroom

"Okay" she said and he left

After he was out of the room she let the broom and moved to their bed. It was like all her strength has been swept away from her. She knew it was downhill from there on.

* * *

Alex called her when he finished cooking but there was no answer. He set the table and went upstairs to get her but when he got nearer to their bedroom he could already listen to her snoring. He entered the room to find her sprawled in the bed. Her cleaning in the bathroom was unfinished, the broom abandoned resting against the sink. He quickly gathered all things she was using to clear the bathroom and then softly tried to wake her up.

"Meredith, dinner is ready" he said

"Alex?" she asked opening her eyes

"You slept. Probably because you are tired of cleaning and the events of the past days" he said brushing her bangs

"Yeah, these days are tiring" she agreed sitting in the bed

"Do you want me to bring your food here?" he asked kindly

"No, I am fine, I'll meet you there in a minute" she said

"Okay" said him kissing her forehead and leaving

"How am I supposed to say him?" she murmured to herself, touching her bare skin

"What am I going to do?" she asked as she stood up and left her room

The truth was she already knew what she had to do. As a doctor she was used to save lives and give parents hope that their children could be saved. She was a surgeon, she fought death until the last minute and she wouldn't be able to give up on life. But what was she supposed to do from there? She had no idea.

* * *


	11. The Remains of The Last Day

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 10 -The Remains of The Last Day  
**

* * *

Some weeks have passed and Serena was perfectly fine now. She has been released from the hospital three weeks ago and Liz and John were clearly relieved but still hurting. So was Meredith.

She had returned on Dr Green's office a week after her first appointment to schedule the appointments she was supposed to do. The elder doctor was happy Meredith had decided to go ahead. Deep inside Dr Green never thought otherwise but she could see how conflicted Meredith was.

Today was the first of a few appointments Meredith has already scheduled

"Dr Green"

"Dr Karev" she answered and expected a few minutes for someone else to join them. As she noticed they would be alone she frowned

"Are you alone?" the doctor asked

"Yes" Meredith answered

"I know this is none of my business but you also know is a common question to do, so, doesn't the father know about it?"

"No, he doesn't" Meredith confessed

"Well Meredith, that's the farther I can ask you and though I think it would be great for you to have him with you, to help and support you, I can't force you but I do think you should tell him. It is not that he will never find out, in fact I think he might notice very soon" she said taking a better look on Meredith's face and body

"Well I am not sure how I am going to tell him and until I have it figured I'll keep things the way they are now"

"Okay. I hope to see him with you in the next appointment" Dr Green smiled softly

Meredith didn't say a word as Dr Green already expected. The older doctor couldn't understand why she was hiding it from her husband. He was a doctor he was used to people on her condition. This was what he did for a living and still Meredith preferred to hide her medical condition

"Well I am going to ask you a few questions about the past six weeks and then we'll do the exams" Green said and Meredith only nodded

"So how are you feeling?" she started and they talked for about five minutes when Dr Green's pager went off

"Oh shit, 911. Meredith I won't be able to finish with you, do you want me to send a resident to run the exams or do you prefer to reschedule it?"

"It is okay, I'll reschedule" Meredith said

"It is not okay Meredith, especially after what you said me. Your blood pressure is a bit too high for my taste and you shouldn't have respiration issues and bleedings, at all. Are you sure you don't want to any doctor to finish your examination?" she asked

"Dr Green I could have a doctor on West Mercy or anywhere else, the reason I am here is because you the best in town. I wanted some privacy and that's impossible to have in Seattle Grace if you are a staff member but the main reason I came to you is because you are the best. I'll check my schedule and I will let you know. We will reschedule and everything will be okay"

"I gotta go, but Meredith, do it as soon as possible. I am bit worried about you"

"I'll do it" Meredith said and both doctor left the office

* * *

"Where have you been this afternoon?" Alex asked

"What?" Meredith asked surprised. How did he know she wasn't at home?

"Lexie, she stopped by and said you weren't here and that your cell phone was disconnected"

When Meredith was about to answer, the phone rang and she ran to get it

"Hello"

"Yes, I am sorry, I went to the grocery store but the line was insane. Who does grocery on a Thursday afternoon for God's sake?" Meredith asked

While she was talking to her sister, Alex was paying attention on her body. For some reason he didn't know, she was hiding herself from him. Surely they didn't have sex for a few days after her tiring week with Serena. She was drained both physically and emotionally and he didn't want to push her.

But some days later they resumed their sexual activities but Meredith seemed different. At first they did it and she was okay but after a week or two she was trying to avoid it like the plague and when he finally confronted her she said she was all right and when her period was gone they would make love again. They did but she had wanted to make it only in the bedroom and all the times with the lights off. They weren't taking showers together anymore and he realized she was avoiding taking shower when he was in the house. It crossed his mind that she was trying to hide something on her body but what? He realized her tiredness has never been gone and though it has passed one month and a half since Serena was admitted in the hospital she was still overtired.

He looked at her figure as she talked in the phone. She was wearing a baggy button up shirt and a skirt. Meredith rarely wore skirts and dresses but lately she has been wearing often She also was wearing sweaters during spring, which was uncommon for her.

He was lost in his thoughts when he heard a noise and looked at Meredith's direction.

"Meredith" he cried out as he watched his wife losing her balance and falling in the floor, taking the phone base and a vase with her, that broke into millions of pieces

"Honey, Mer, look at me, Meredith wake up" he said slapping softly her face

"Alex" she said low and he immediately noticed she was having issues to breath

"Honey, tell me what you are feeling"

"I… I am… Green" she rambled but air was turning into a problem and she was losing her consciousness again

"Baby, stay with me, Mer, look at me, don't close your eyes baby, please Meredith, stay with me" said Alex desperately as his wife passed out on his arms

He then listened to something and realized Lexie was still on the phone, probably yelling her lungs for him to listen to her

"Hello" he said

"Lex, what happened, what was that noise?"

"It is Meredith, she passed out, I am taking her to the hospital, please call them and let them know"

"I am in the hospital, I came to take Mark, his car is in the dealer's garage"

"I gotta go, Lexie, she is barely breathing" he said hanging up the phone and taking his wife almost lifeless body to his car

"Please Meredith, what have you been hiding from me?" he asked as he was laying her body in the back seat. Her shirt hung into the driver's seat and it was pulled out almost suffocating her. Alex realized it and froze at the sight of her body. He immediately knew what she has been hiding

"Shit" he said as soon as he saw it "Tell me you didn't do this to me, Mer" he said finally placing her and trying to attach the safe belt on her somehow

He drove the faster he could but he needed to be careful otherwise she would be thrown in the car.

* * *

"Alex, what happened?" Lexie asked as he entered the hospital

"She passed out, I need to run some labs"

"Karev, let the doctors take care of her, you are her husband now, not her doctor" Mark said as Alex laid her on a stretcher and started to push it inside the hospital

"No, I am not her husband now, I am her doctor because she has hidden it from me, so I am definitely not her husband" he said as he exposed her body to Mark and Lexie

"Oh, Mer" Lexie said moving her hands to her mouth

Alex took her into one of the rooms he was so used to visit and took her blood sample while Lexie, Mark and two doctors that Mark paged followed him and his actions

"Please, take these as soon as possible to the lab" he said giving her blood to the resident

"Her blood pressure is too high" said Lexie

"She is bleeding Dr Karev" said Dr Simon noticing the blood on her blue skirt

"Damn it, Meredith" Alex said as he took the gel and slid the probe "I can't believe it" he said frustrated and angry

"Alex, Dr Simon will take from now and I will ask you to leave him and the doctors to do their work" Mark said calmly as Alex looked at the screen completely dumbfounded

"I can't believe her" Alex said one more time

"Alex" Mark said more serious, grabbing his friend's arm

"No, Mark, let me finish finding out my wife's lie" he said moving the probe

"Alex, don't make me call security" said Mark angrily

"Fine, she is not my problem anymore" Alex said handing the probe to Jayden and leaving the room, Lexie and Mark following him outside the room

"Alex" Lexie called out

"Save it, Lexie" he answered walking away from his friends and wife

* * *

"How is she?" Cristina asked as she met Lexie and Liz in front of Meredith's room

"She is still unconscious and they are trying to drop her blood pressure"

"How bad is it?" Cristina asked not having a full view of her friend

"We don't know yet the results are not back yet" Liz said

"Did you know about it?" asked Lexie as the doctor examining Meredith moved and Cristina was able to see her body

"I had no idea" said Cristina quietly

"How… how serious is it? How... how long?" Cristina asked

"We don't know Cristina, we really don't. Alex didn't say a word while he examined her and Jayden didn't give us any update yet"

"How long is she in here?"

"About twenty minutes"

"That's enough" said Cristina pushing the door open and grabbing Jayden's arm

"How. Is. She?" she asked with clenched teeth

"We are managing some meds to bring her blood pressure down and waiting for the blood results. We need to check her urine"

"Is it PC?" she asked

"I think it is"

"How far along?"

"I'd say 21 or 22 weeks"

"Damn it, Meredith, if you wake up and tell me that you didn't have any appointment I will kill you" Cristina said leaving the room and ignoring Liz and Lexie questions

"Page Dr Karev, please" she said to the nurse

"Dr Mark already asked he won't answer his pager or his phone"

"Did you see where he went?"

"No, I am sorry"

Cristina walked out the hospital and noticed Alex's car was still parked close to the emergency room entrance. She looked for him outside and inside the hospital but she couldn't find him. She crossed the street and walked in Emerald City and not much for her surprise, he was there, with a bottle of tequila making him company

"Alex" she said quietly behind him

"Leave me alone" he answered not turning to see her

"They are going to take her BP down and she will be fine, they will be fine"

"I don't care if she is fine or if he is fine Cristina. They could die at that table and I wouldn't care. She hided it from me Cristina. She is 22 weeks pregnant and she didn't tell me, did you know it?" he asked looking at her for the first time

"No, I didn't"

"How couldn't I notice her damn stomach? Sure I haven't seen her naked for almost a month but she is almost five months pregnant and still she thinks the father doesn't deserve to know. Or maybe that's the problem, I am not the father, so why am I complaining?" he smirked sarcastically and took another shot

"Of course you are the father Alex. Don't lie to yourself you know you will be ruined if any of them die"

"I am already ruined Cristina, she destroyed me, after four years I thought she would trust me enough to say she is pregnant. We talked, you know, we made plans about having kids after the residency but then Serena got sick and Liz asked us to godparent her little girl and Meredith and I decided it was too much for us to have a kid" he said taking the third shot since Cristina arrived

"I am sure she was only scared Alex, you have no idea how Serena's disease hit Meredith"

"Don't you think it hit me hard, Cristina? Don't you think that when we were finally able to make plans about babies that I found myself thinking about names and what I would want to teach my kids? Don't you think that every time I delivered a kid I didn't think how it would be when Meredith and mine's finally come?" he asked as tears fell down his face

"Alex, but you said you both agreed that you weren't ready, at least not after what happened to Sassy"

"When Sassy got sick Meredith was sixteen weeks along, Cristina, she already knew. It has nothing to do with what happened to Serena. This is Meredith, never trusting me enough, never letting me in and I am sick of it. I did the best I could. I know that when we started dating I wasn't exactly boyfriend material, let alone husband and father. But I've changed Cristina. I've changed for her and I tried to be the best man I could for her. I wanted to protect her and I wanted to support her and comfort her but she never allowed me. She always has been on her own and she has only opened up to you, I am really surprised she didn't say anything to you this time. At least it is not like I am the last to find out" he said taking the bottle to serve himself another shot

"Enough" Cristina said taking the bottle from his hand and putting in a near vacant table

"Yes, you are right. Enough. Enough of trying to reach for Meredith, I can't do it anymore" he said putting some bills in the table and standing up to leave

"Alex, you love her, they need you, you can't walk away from your wife and kid"

"Yes I can, she walked away first, Cristina, from me and from him. I am not even sure she had an appointment. Pre-eclampsia can be diagnosed with pregnancy routine exams and I if she had at least thought about the baby she is carrying she wouldn't be laid on a stretcher fighting for both of their lives" he said walking away

* * *

Almost an hour later Meredith finally woke up and found herself attached to some wires

"What happened?" she asked confused

"You passed out, Dr Grey, I will let your friends know that you are awake. Don't worry, you and the baby are fine for now" said the intern that was monitoring her and the baby

Soon Cristina, Liz, Mark and Lexie entered the room

"What the hell, Meredith?" Cristina yelled as soon as the intern left the room and let her friends alone with her

"I am sorry, Cristina" Meredith said avoiding their eyes

"Meredith, why did you hide it from us? Why did you hide if from Alex?" asked Liz

"I was scared, Sassy has been so sick, we almost lost her, at first I didn't know if I wanted to bring a child into this mess we live in but I couldn't bring myself to do an abortion but I didn't know how to tell to Alex. We have decided that we wouldn't have children for awhile, maybe for good" Meredith said thankful her husband wasn't there. She didn't know how she was going to face him and facing her friends first would help her to tell him. She didn't think for one moment that it was unusual for Alex to be absent when she has just woke up, she was too worried thinking about she would say to him

"Bullshit, Meredith. When Sassy got sick you were already sixteen weeks along. You knew better and you still decided to hide it from us"

"I swear I didn't know. I was still having my period and I didn't have any a symptom except that I was more tired than usual" she confessed "I only found out when our results for meningococcemia came"

"How can you be almost four months pregnant and don't know? You are a doctor for God's sake" Cristina asked throwing her hands in the air

"I didn't, okay!!!" Meredith said and the first tears started to fall

"Enough, Cristina, she needs some rest" said Liz placing her hand on Cristina's shoulder

"Whatever" said Cristina leaving the room, crossing with Alex as she walked out

"Can I have a minute with Meredith?" he asked and they all agreed and left

"I am so sorry, Lex, I was going to tell you, I sweat I was but I didn't know what you would think. I thought you would ask me to do an abortion but when I found out it was already late and then I thought you would want me to give the baby to adoption. I was preparing myself, Alex, I swear" she cried as he stood there, in front of her bed, motion and emotionless

"Do you think I would ask you to have an abortion? To give up my baby to someone else to raise? Do you really think this short of me?" he asked with a hurt face

"You said you couldn't handle a baby, maybe not now, maybe not forever" she pleaded

"That was the plan, Meredith, reality is another story!!!!" he yelled on her

"I am so sorry Alex" she said burying her face in her hands

"You never really gave me a chance here, Meredith, not for this baby, not for our marriage, not to my love for you and I can't do it anymore" he sighed

"Wh—what?" she asked

"I am leaving you, I will go home and take my things. I already booked a hotel room to me, I want to fill for a divorce but I will want full custody, because his mother isn't able to love anyone enough, she doesn't let anyone in and if you were selfish and irresponsible enough to risk his life before he is born, God knows what you will make after he is born. I don't want my kid to be raised by Ellis Grey" he said and walked away

"No, Alex!!!! Alex!!! No, I didn't know" she cried out but he was already gone

"I had the appointments" she said as her tears rolled down her face

* * *


	12. You Can't Count on Me

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 11 - ****You Can't Count on Me**

* * *

"Meredith, you are going to be put on bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy. I am not releasing you already and if you don't mind, I'd want to transfer you to Presb. in the case you still want me to be your OB Gyn" said Dr Green – who came to Seattle Grace to make the consult

"He thinks I didn't love him and the baby enough. He thinks I totally ignored my baby, you know I didn't, you know I was there for the appointment, you know I tried" Meredith said through tears

"Meredith, you should try to calm yourself down, for you and for the baby. Your blood pressure is still above the ideal and you are still too early on your pregnancy to induce labor, I am going to need your full commitment and collaboration to ensure you are both healthy" Dr Green said

"I love my baby, I really do" Meredith said caressing her stomach

"I know you do, Meredith, I was there when you said you wanted it, I was there when you said you wouldn't never have an abortion or give your baby to adoption"

"He left me" she said as the tears fell

"Meredith, look at me, Meredith" Dr Green said and Meredith obeyed

"Did you understand what I just said to you? That I want you to be transferred to Seattle Presbyterian and that I need you to be on bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy?"

"But he left me! How am I supposed to go on if I am alone?" Meredith asked

"You are not alone, there are at least a half dozen of people outside this door waiting for me to give them good news, Alex included. You are not alone but I need you to be strong and brave and obedient, for you and your little boy, okay?" Dr Green asked kindly

"Is it a boy?" Meredith asked surprised

"I thought you knew as Alex referred to it as a he all the time" said the elder doctor

"I am having a little boy!" Meredith said in realization

"I am sorry, I didn't know you didn't know and I don't remember if you wanted to know the sex or not. I assumed that as Alex used masculine pronouns around you, that you both knew the sex"

"It is okay, I am not sure I noticed he was referring to a boy all the time. His words were mostly harsh and I tried to block it because it hurt a lot"

"I am sorry anyway"

"Don't be, I would want to know the sex. To paint the nursery and buy his clothes" Meredith said as a new batch of tears fell from her eyes "He says he will fight for full custody"

"Hush… you don't know what will happen when this little boy arrives, so until there, don't think about how it is going to be after all. And we know, Meredith, that you wanted this baby and loved him since you found out, no judge will separate you from your baby"

"Do you think so?"

"I do. I can testify for you but I am sure it won't be needed, I am sure you and Alex will work it out"

"Thank you" Meredith said honestly

"So I am going to talk to Dr Sloan for him to take care of your pregnancy leave, if you don't mind, I'd want you on Presb already this afternoon. I'd want to monitor both of you for a couple of weeks and evaluate if I can let you go home or if I will need to keep you in the hospital"

"Okay" Meredith answered quietly

"Do you have any other question? I can see Alex pacing outside" Dr Green said as she pointed to the door's glass

"No, I am fine. Are you going to update them?" she asked

"Only if you want me to"

"Please, I'd to rest, I feel like there is an anvil over my shoulders and my vision is a bit blurred"

"Sure, I will talk to them, once your BP drop a bit more your vision will be better" Dr Green said and Meredith nodded, turning to sleep

"Try to always sleep over your left side, it helps" Dr Green said before leaving

* * *

"Are you her doctor?" Cristina said as soon as Dr Green closed Meredith's room door

"Yes, I am, I am Dr Janice Green and Meredith is a patient of mine on Seattle Presbyterian"

"And how come couldn't you catch her pre-eclampsia condition?" Cristina asked

"Do you mind to go to a room, Meredith authorized me to give you all information though I am going to need to talk to both of you privately Dr Sloan and Alex"

"Let's go to my office" said Mark leading the way

Cristina, Alex, Liz, Lexie, Bailey, Arizona and Callie followed Mark as they crowded his office

"Meredith indeed has a pre-eclampsia condition, as you pointed out, Dr Yang" said Janice reading her name on her lab coat "and the reason why we couldn't catch it before is because Meredith had a very asymptomatic pregnancy. Her period still came for a while, tough it was very weak, and she found out only six weeks ago she was pregnant. She has found out about her pregnancy after the twelfth week and I couldn't measure her VEGF165b protein anymore. All her labs were good and there was no indication she could develop pre-eclampsia, so I made the prescription I do for all my patients. She has come to my office yesterday, for her second appointment but I had a 911 page and asked her to reschedule it as soon as possible" the doctor said and Alex swallowed

"She has rescheduled it for today's afternoon. I was able to talk to her before I was paged and I realized her blood pressure was too high and she shouldn't present blurred vision or difficulty to breathe, as she related to have a few times and neither the bleeding. It is not uncommon for women to have minor bleedings during their pregnancy if they are on their first trimester but it wasn't Meredith's case. I told her I suspected of something and asked to reschedule the appointment as soon as possible, so just for you to know…" Janice said looking at anyone and stopping at Alex's eyes "Meredith has been very responsible about her pregnancy and has followed my orders with dedication"

"Okay" said Cristina calmer

"I am going to transfer her to Seattle Presbyterian" Janice said and before anyone could protest she talked again "Meredith wants me to be her doctor. She made it clear to me yesterday and reassured it today, so I am only carrying on my patient's wish" she completed and they only nodded

"Now doctors, if you don't mind I need to talk to Dr Sloan and Alex privately"

"Thank you, Dr Green" some of they said and they left the three doctors behind

"I will monitor her and the baby for the next two weeks and I will evaluate if I should release her home or not. She is not going to work until she gives birth, Dr Sloan" she said and Alex buried his head on his hands

"No problem, I'll have Alex to take care of the papers and I will sign it as soon as I have it" Mark said

"I also need someone to take care of transferring her to Presb, preferably this afternoon"

"Okay" said Mark nodding

"Well that's all I need from you, Dr Sloan, can I have some minutes alone with Alex?" she asked

"Sure, you can use my office, I going to ask someone to take care of her transfer papers"

"Thank you, Dr Sloan" Janice said and Mark left her alone with Alex

"As she presents an advanced risky condition, we will try to have the baby ready for delivery as soon as possible, so I might induce her labor to earlier than her original due date" Janice said and Alex nodded

"You know her condition as well as I do and I assume you looked at her results, so you know all the risks, all the procedures and I don't think I need to repeat them for you, do I?" she asked and he shook his head

"Do you have any questions?" and he shook his head one more time

"Good, she will be able to receive visitors everyday, until 9pm and if anyone wants to spend the night with her, let me know and I will take of it" she said and he nodded

"Alex, I know this is very hard for you now, I knew she was hiding it from you and though I have no idea why she did it I could see she was deeply conflicted and afraid. Pediatric surgeons, especially on their first years, have some difficulty handling their own children, regardless if they already have them or only plan about it. We deal with death everyday and sometimes, maybe more than we want to admit, we lose these battles and though I am not sure why Meredith didn't tell you, I can see where she is coming from. I've seen this before, until she develops a defense mechanism she will have a hard time handling the deaths of the kids she treats, especially if they are close to her. I know you are hurt and you have all rights to be hurt and I am not talking as a doctor anymore, but as someone you once said you were asking something not only as a fellow surgeon but as a friend. Give her time and give yourself time. She is going to need you and you are going to need her. Her condition is serious and complicated and you know the risks and you know she can't be stressed out more than she already is by the condition she has. I am not asking you to reconsider your personal decision to leave her, it is not my place, not even as a friend, but I am going to ask you to make it as easy as you can for her, she needs peace to keep her blood pressure low. I can manage as much medicines as I want, if she doesn't have a good environment around her, it will be useless"

"I know" he voiced a word for the first time

"So, even if you keep your position, think about your son before you hurt her more than she already has been. She was hurt by herself, but the situation before the disease and by the disease. She doesn't need to be hurt by the people that would supposedly support her"

"Okay"

"So as a last request… if you think you can't be around her without hurting her and showing your anger and pain, please, back off. You have all rights to be angry and hurt but think about the ones you love. Their lives are in the line and I know that you don't want any of them to go" she said touching his shoulder and leaving

* * *

As the door closed Alex finally broke down. He has spent the previous night mad on Meredith and planning how to take their baby away from her as soon as he was born. He was hurt by her actions but his paternal instincts were stronger and all he could think was how irresponsible Meredith has been and how their little boy could die because of her careless actions. He suppressed the pain of seeing the woman she loved in a hospital bed, he suppressed the fear of losing her forever, he tried to hate her and to despise her all through the night and at some point his anger took over of his body and he slept.

When he woke up this morning he was on auto-pilot. He headed to the hospital as he did every morning – though this morning he wasn't on their house, he was on a cold hotel room and when he arrived there and found out Janice on her room, he knew he has misjudged her actions. He looked at her chart and he lost his ground. Yesterday he was mad on her and he has said horrible things to Cristina and has thought even worse things. He obviously didn't want any of them dead. He clearly cared about his wife and kid because they were his life, they were his… family. While Dr Green was talking to Meredith he thought for the first time that they could be a family, that it won't be only he and Meredith anymore and all he wanted to do was enter that room and hold his wife's hand but his pride rooted him and the best he could was pace in front of her room. Surely he hasn't forgiven Meredith yet and for his experience with forgiveness he had a long way to go before he could let it go. He was still angry on her but he was mainly hurt now and every time Alex was hurting he would hurt everyone around him. But he couldn't do it now, Janice was right, he had to think about them because both of their lives were in the line and so he cried… he cried and cried, he laid in the couch on Mark's office and cried on a fetus position. He cried because his wife could die, because his son could die, because he would probably die without them and because his life was always messed up. He was right some months ago when he confessed to Meredith he felt like a tragedy would come. It came at first with Sassy and now with his family. Family… it was something he secretly has always dreamed about. A healthy and happy family, so different of what he had back on Iowa with all the bad things that happened to his family. He was happy with Meredith, damn it, he was more than happy with her and now he could lose her and the chance to have a family with the only woman he ever really loved in his life. He knew she had a lot of issues and so did him and that they had a hard time opening up but he made so much progress in the past years and it hurt him that she still kept so many walls around her heart and soul. And then fate has come again in his way, to play with him, to play another sick joke and he was tired. He was tired of so much drama, pain and loss. Loss. He could lose Meredith and their son and he didn't trust himself around her, at least not yet, so he has decided he would leave her alone, until he healed, until she was out of danger and their son was safe. Right now he would be best man and the best man would walk away. At least that's what he thought.

* * *


	13. Lost in Translation

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 12 -Lost in Transition  
**

* * *

Meredith has been through her two weeks of evaluation and Dr Green has decided to keep her in the hospital until her labor. They managed a lot of medicines on her and had a lot of exams to run almost on a daily basis. She wanted to monitor the baby closely as well as his development to ensure that both were fine.

Meredith wasn't really amused by the news. How was she supposed to spend the next 15 weeks in the hospital? She was already sick of it on her third week but she didn't care, as long as her baby was healthy. She did everything Dr Green asked her to do, which wasn't many things as she was stuck on a hospital bed but she still did everything on her power to keep her baby. She loved him and she didn't mind all the pain and medication she was taking if he was to be born healthy.

She missed her friends, they took turns to sleep with her at first, but when she found out she would have to spend the next three months in the hospital, she convinced them it was ridiculous to change their lives for too long and that she was totally fine. But now that they were gone, she missed them. Surely they would always go visit her after their shifts on SGH but they didn't spend much time with her.

But above all she missed Alex. She could count on one of her hands now many times he has visited her since she was there. Their friends ensured her he would go on Presb. everyday to talk to Dr Green and to look at her chart but why wouldn't he visit her? They weren't a couple anymore and she knew the only reason he came to the hospital was to check on his son. He has been on her room two times and all of them during her scheduled appointments with Dr Green. They would listen to the baby's heartbeat, he would see Janice measuring the baby's height and weight but he was never on her side, or close to her, he was always at the dark haired doctor's side. He barely acknowledged Meredith's presence and it killed her. Sure she was relieved he didn't have other harsh words to her. She would never forget what he said to her that night. She would never forget he called her Ellis Grey and that she wasn't good enough to raise their baby. She was still worried about the custody battle but Liz has warned her that if she didn't receive the divorce papers yet, she could be in peace. Parents needed to be separated in the first place to fight for custody. Surely Meredith and Alex weren't living together anymore because she was in the hospital and it surely didn't present as a normal condition of separation. Dr Green has also talked to her and asked her to do her best to put all these thoughts in the back of her mind. Of all things Janice asked this was definitely the hardest one. Meredith has put a lot of effort on her mind and she was successful most of times but there were days like today that she would not be able to forget about. There were days that she would only think about Alex, their current situation and their future. These days she knew her blood pressure was harder to control and that she gave a bad time to the doctors that took care of her.

Today was different because she knew it would be her fellow residents last day of work before their three week vacation. She was happy she has been able to finish her 6th year, even if she lost the last three weeks. She had more than ten percent of minimum OR time required and fifteen percent of overall time required. Peds do it to you, she used to say. She has spent nights in the hospital monitoring special kids for her and has basically been in the hospital almost an entire week non-stop, working on Serena's case, so she had backup hours to complete her 6th year. Her next year was still a mystery. Her due date was originally on September but now it could be any minute. Dr Green has said to her that she would hardly make it to September, that they should think at August as the best but there was still chances for the baby to come this month or in the next. The idea terrified Meredith. She didn't want her little boy to come earlier, especially more than ten weeks. They were supposed to be back in the hospital at the first week of July, when she would be 28-29 weeks along. As Dr Green advised her work with August, mid-August to be exact, she would probably lose seven weeks with sick leave and then twelve with maternity leave. She was planning to talk to Mark and lose about fifteen weeks and try to make up for it in the remaining months of her residency. Cristina said it was totally possible as she did it with Johnny though she has been away only for 8 weeks. She tried to think about these things to avoid thinking about her problems.

She had no idea what Alex would do with his three vacant weeks. He didn't say, she didn't ask and none of their friends knew it as he didn't mention it to anyone. Trying to make her days in the hospital more bearable and productive she has decided ask for her friends' help to find a new house for her. She surely didn't want to raise her baby in the house she spent the first years of her life and where she has lived with Alex for almost three years.

She remembered about Izzie every time she thought about the house

**

* * *

Flashback starts**

"_I can't believe you guys are engaged, that's great news, Mer!!!" Izzie said hugging her friend_

"_Congratulations" said Lexie also hugging her sister_

"_So do you guys already set up a date?" Izzie asked excitedly_

"_Woa, Izzie, one step at time. We just got engaged and you know this is a huge step for both of us"_

"_But it has to be soon, because endless engagements don't end well" the blonde answered_

"_When the time is right we will tie the knot" Meredith said giggling_

"_Oh and the babies, don't you think their babies will look beautiful, Lexie?" Izzie asked_

"_They will certainly do" Lexie said smirking_

"_Wow, what could I expect of you guys? I say I am engaged and you all ready for the wedding and the kids" Meredith smirked as well_

"_Life is short Meredith, we need to seize the day and never let for tomorrow what can be done today, so we are going to start your wedding scrapbook right now" said Izzie walking to the TV cabinet and taking a Morehead notebook_

"_Oh my God, did you have it plan?" Meredith asked surprised and shocked_

"_No, I just like Morehead"_

"_It is perfect" Lexie said excitedly as well_

"_So we will start with the checklist, everything you are going to take care when you set up a date. Don't let anything for the last minute because florists, buffets, churches have all very full schedules" Izzie said with a big grin_

"_Here we go" said Meredith rolling her eyes_

_Izzie made a list of all the services Meredith needed to hire and assured her friend she would be her wedding planner. She loved weddings and she hasn't really a chance to help Cristina on her failed wedding especially because of her crazy mother but she would surely take care of Meredith's._

_The girls talked about million things and Lexie and Izzie tried hard to convince Meredith every bride wanted an unforgettable, classic, huge wedding. Meredith's idea was totally different but after five minutes of conversation she realized it was a waste of time to disagree with Izzie. She was sure Alex and she would take some months, if not years to think about a date, so she wouldn't cut off her friend_

"_And you definitely need a new house!" Izzie concluded_

"_A new house?" asked Meredith and Lexie on unison_

"_Sure, this house is too dark for a just married couple and you wouldn't want to raise your kids here, would you?" Izzie asked and Meredith thought about it for a moment. She doesn't really need a lighter house, she was okay with dark environments, she would prefer them in fact, but Izzie was right, she didn't want to raise her kids at the same place she lived her early childhood. She didn't want to have the memories she worked so hard to forget to haunt her when her kids were at the same age as she was once, doing the same things she used to do. She wanted a new start with Alex and it meant it all. For now they wouldn't move out because they weren't living together, let alone getting married and having kids but when the time come, she would want a new house, maybe a lighter house because kids are certainly bright and shiny. She didn't want her kids to be dark and twisted as she was, so a lighter house was definitely an option_

"_It is a good idea, Iz, thanks" said Meredith as she took the notebook from Izzie and wrote in the last page_

Hunt for a new house, with very good lightning_. She wrote and with a grin on her face she called it a night with the girls and went to bed thinking about her wedding and baby plans_

**Flashback ends**

* * *

Meredith has kept the scrapbook, especially after Izzie passed away and she has asked Lexie to take it with her when she came to visit her later that day

Caressing her stomach she talked to her son

"Mom is going to find a beautiful house for us, with very good lightning and a beautiful backyard for you to play. I will build – or someone will – a swing and a seesaw and we will play there every weekend. Don't worry, I will take you to the park and to the zoo as well and if I am not home, and maybe I won't be at home all weekends in the next couple of years, I am sure your daddy will take you" Meredith said really focused on her one to one with her baby not realizing that someone was in the door - which was open - looking at her

"I am sure daddy will take to you watch the Mariners, he loves baseball and you will have a great time with him. I am sorry I messed it up and he won't be there with us everyday, but you don't ever blame him, okay? It was mommy's fault and I am so sorry I will make to you what my mom made to me but your daddy is a very special guy and he won't give up on you and he will be there every step of the way to teach you all this macho things you need to learn. You will be very proud of him, because he is an honorable man that will love you more than anything in his life. I really hope you get a lot of him, not only the looks, though I have to say his looks are the best, but also the morals. He is a great man and I don't wish my little prince to be like anyone else. He is the perfect model and you will listen and learn from him, okay? If you do so, mommy will be very happy and very proud of you, the same way she is proud of him. I know I am asking too much and it will only make it worse and will make you miss him a lot more. Mommy misses him too but we will work it around. I promise"

Meredith continued her conversation but Alex couldn't take it anymore, he quietly walked away of the room, with the scrapbook on his hands. Lexie had an emergency and she asked him to take the book to Meredith. At first he didn't want but she insisted that he was the only one that had the keys and knew exactly where it was, as Cristina was on call. He unhappily drove home and took the book and thought about leaving it with a nurse to give it to Meredith but he changed his mind at the last minute. He would keep their interaction to the least and she would just happily accept. At least that was what he thought. He thought she didn't want him in her life anymore and he knew his words destroyed her, he heard from Liz how much she was excited about the baby and how an incredible mother she would be. He knew the baby was the main person on her life and he felt that somehow his space was filled and he wasn't missed anymore. He was afraid she would try to keep the baby away from him, at this point he knew there was no reason for a judge decide to give him full custody. Meredith had done nothing wrong to the baby. She has already been a great mother to their unborn child and he knew in the best scenario, he would have a joint custody spending alternate weekends with this son. But now listening to Meredith talk to the baby was a shock for him. He never thought she wouldn't, in fact the few times he allowed himself to think about her he imagined the exact scene he has just witnessed but he didn't expect her to defend him to their baby. He didn't expect her to be willing for him to have great experiences with their son and for him to get his morals. He didn't think she was this proud of the man he was and it broke his heart again. He was calmer and more understanding after three weeks and though he still thought divorce was really the best for them, he would wait for their son to be born to fill the papers. He didn't want to cause any unneeded and additional stress or pain to Meredith, so he kept his decision to himself. He thought that he had never really reached for her heart, that it was the reason why she kept their pregnancy from him. Most of nights when he came to the conclusion that for her he wasn't father material or at least that he wasn't the father she wanted for her kids and so she kept it from him and she would keep their baby from him when he was born.

He never for one moment thought otherwise but listening to her words now was a shock and honestly it didn't help at all. Overwhelmed by the whole situation he walked to the nurse station and asked the nurse to give the book the Meredith and left.

Today was his last day in the hospital and he planned to look for a new house and a lawyer in the next three weeks. Some nights he would come back to the house and slept there, especially because he couldn't afford to live on a hotel but now he would use his vacant time to find a new place. He used to think that a month ago his plan was to do this with Meredith and spend a week away from Seattle but now he wouldn't leave Seattle afraid of something happening to Meredith or their boy while he was gone.

As for the lawyer he thought about what he said to Meredith the night she passed out and he regretted it every day but he couldn't erase the words. He wanted to share their son custody, he misjudged her and he was wrong and he knew he hurt her more than anyone else by saying she would be like her mother was to her.

_Damn it, she will never forget it, I will never forgive me. Stupid jackass why didn't you listen to her before saying anything. Surely nothing she said would justify her actions by hiding me she was pregnant but I couldn't jump to conclusions about her love, commitment and responsibility towards the baby when she has showed so much love to each of our friends' kids and the children she treated. You are a stupid ass._ He thought hitting his own head.

Listening to Meredith's words made him realize the obvious: she would forgive him. She was this forgiving woman that always put her loved ones before her and he was this jackass that never really understood her issues.

And he was now more lost than hurt.

* * *


	14. Cross The Line

**

* * *

You and Me and Other People**

**Chapter 13 - Cross The Line  
**

* * *

Meredith has found some very good places on internet and she really hoped Janice would release her to go visit a couple of houses but her doctor was steady on her position, Meredith wouldn't leave the hospital until the baby was born. They had made some tests and Meredith's blood pressure seemed to be very hard to be kept low and Dr Green didn't want to risk her BP to raise and for Meredith not be close to the hospital to get her medicines.

"What do you think of this one?" asked Lexie to the webcam she was holding, giving Meredith a 360 view of the living room of the house she and Mark were visiting for Meredith

"It seems nice. Good lightning, a good backyard, exactly what I've been looking for" said Meredith happy

"Let me show you upstairs so" said Lexie as she walked holding the camera and Mark followed holding his notebook

"Grey, you better like this one, I won't do it again" said him as Lexie almost lost her balance because Lexie ran upstairs and the webcam wire would be disconnected if he hasn't pulled the wire and then Lexie

"It is not my fault you guys have no synch or don't buy a wireless cam" Meredith said laughing

"We have a lot of synch where it matters and I am sure Lexie talked to you about some positions, but I could refresh your memory" said Mark making Lexie turn the camera to his face

"Eww, Mark, that's something I don't let Lexie share, let alone you" she said with a smirking face "Show me the room, Lexie" Meredith said and her sister obeyed

That was the fourth house Meredith was seeing. The first one, Lexie and Liz showed her, the second Liz and John, the third and the fourth have been Lexie and Mark. She didn't like the first three. They were okay, they had exactly what she was looking for but somehow she couldn't imagine living there with her baby. She was starting to have different feelings about this one

"The realtor should be helping you, not us" Mark complained again

"I don't trust them, they are only interested in one thing: sell the houses they have to" Meredith said

"Whatever"

"So Meredith, stop listening to my bitter husband and say me what you think of the master bedroom?" Lexie said as she slowly turned the webcam to show her all the details of the room

"It is connected to a bathroom and to the guestroom" Lexie said showing both doors

"Let me see the guestroom" Meredith asked and Lexie opened the door and entered the smaller room

All walls in the house are a light yellow, including the master room but this one was light blue and lavender.

"You could make his nursery here" said Lexie "It is perfect!!" she said excitedly

"I think I could"

"You won't need to paint the walls, this color is beautiful" said Lexie and Meredith nodded her head, even though her sister couldn't see her

"Let's see the others rooms" said Mark walking away and taking Lexie with him by the webcam wire

Lexie showed her the other two rooms, the connected bathroom and the independent bathroom.

It was a family house. Four rooms, one painted on blue, another on purple and the guestroom in the same color of the rest of house.

Downstairs there was the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the laundry, an office and another bathroom. The kitchen was well illuminated and had a huge glass door that showed the green backyard. There was a small pool but what closed the deal for Meredith was the little tree house in one of the few trees. It wasn't very high and she laughed for a good ten minutes of Lexie and Mark trying to get into the tree house to show it inside to Meredith. He fell once and Meredith could listen to him swearing as Lexie told him to shut up. They finally decided to disconnect the webcam. Lexie entered the tree house and got the laptop and the camera to show Meredith. It was cozy and cute, very clean and the windows were close to the ceiling to avoid the kids to fall.

"It is amazing here, Meredith, will you let me live here?" asked Lexie excited

"I am not sure I will buy the house, Lexie"

"Of course you will, it is perfect. The room is already painted, you have space for the baby to play, a cute tree house and a pool, what else do you want?"

"I don't know. I need to talk to the real state agency"

"Meredith what is there to talk?"

"I don't know if I can afford it, Lexie" Meredith said

"Of course you can, you have all money your mother let to you and I know you don't want to take her money, but the money is yours now, she can't spend it wherever she is now, you need to move on Meredith and there is nothing wrong with taking your heritage"

"I know, you are right but I feel this money is not mine"

"Meredith, forget about you, you will be a mom very soon, you need to think in your little boy, do this for him, can you imagine he running in this yard in two years? I am sure he will love it in here" said Lexie softly "Sassy, Laura and Nate will love it already"

"I need to think, Lexie, but this one is definitely my favorite"

"You know we are going back to the hospital in ten days and then we won't be able to help you look for the house. Do you want to give birth and take your peanut to your mother's house?"

"No, but…" she said but was cut off by her sister

"No buts, I am going to say Daniel you are taking this one" Lexie said and disconnected the webcam

"Lexie!! Lexie!!" Meredith yelled to her laptop but her sister was no longer there. She reached for her mobile and dialed Mark's number

"What now Grey? I am not with Lexie, she is upstairs, playing in the little tree house" he said with an annoyed voice

"Don't let her talk to the realtor, thank the guy and leave, I am not buying the house yet and your wife is crazy" she said

"Fine but be aware I won't do it again and neither will Lexie, we will travel, as you already know" he said

"Yes, Mark, I am fully aware of your sex getaway. Thanks for today"

They said their goodbyes and Meredith replayed the video she just recorded. The house was indeed perfect for her and the baby. It was a bit too big for only her and the baby but she wouldn't think about it now.

* * *

She dialed her lawyer's number

"_Please, I'd like to talk to Jonathan Rice, it is Meredith Grey"_

"_Thank you"_

"_Hey Jonathan, is Meredith, how are you?"_

"_Good, look would you have a spot on your schedule this week? I'd like to know how my funds are going. I know it is short notice but it is an emergency"_

"_Well that's another problem, I am on Seattle Presbyterian and I can't leave, could you come?"_

"_I don't mind, do you mind? I am sure your family won't be happy with you coming after business hours"_

"_Okay, I'll be quick"_

"_Thank you, Jonathan"_

"_Bye"_

Meredith then called Daniel, her realtor

"_Hi, Daniel, this is Meredith, how you?"_

"_So about the house my sister was seeing"_

"_Of course she did, anyway, I will talk to my lawyer tonight and tomorrow I will make the official offer. Is there anyone else interested in the house?"_

"_Good, tomorrow I will let you know my offer"_

"_You're welcome, bye"_

"I am going to kill Lexie" Meredith said to herself

* * *

Meredith has spent the rest of her afternoon replaying the house recording. The most she watched the more she fell in love with house. It was definitely where she'd want to raise her baby. It was the opposite of her mother's house and she was happy she would provide her son a completely different environment. She was lost on her thoughts when someone knocked her door

"Come in" she said and a blond guy entered her room

Jonathan was on his early thirties and he was a very handsome man. He was tanned and his blue eyes popped on his face. His very red lips were a contrast to his white and aligned teeth. He was tall and his muscles could be seen under his light blue button up shirt

"Hi, Meredith" he said with concern especially after noticing her belly

"Hi, Jonathan, how are you?" she asked as he bowed to kiss her cheek

"I couldn't stop thinking why you were here and couldn't leave, are you okay?" he asked

"I am trying to be. I got some pregnancy complications, I will need to be here until the delivery" she said

"I am sorry" he said honestly

"I am sorry about your dad" she said. Jonathan's father was originally her lawyer but he died of a heart attack a few months ago

"We trying to go on, but it is hard. The office is not the same without him and I don't know if I will be able to keep it up like he did"

"No one is expecting you to be your father, Jonathan, they are expecting you to be you and I am sure you will make a lot of good things" she said sympathetically

"Thank you, Mer, but sometimes it is not easy you know, it his office and I don't feel it is my job to continue what he started"

"So don't. It is yours now, make it yours, is time is gone and now is yours"

"Hey this is not the Meredith I know, who are you and what did you do to Meredith?" he asked smirking as Meredith hugged him

"Motherhood changed me, I think" she said caressing her belly

"I am sure it did" he said sitting close to her

* * *

Alex has decided to visit her for the first time during his vacation. He has been thinking about what he heard the last time he came to talk to her. Her kind words about him to their son made a number on his heart. He has spent the past ten days trying to convince himself he should visit her, he wanted to talk to his son, he wanted him to know who he was and he has decided that no matter what happens, he would feel him. He has been in all her appointments since he found out she was pregnant and he has listened to the baby's heartbeat and he has seen how his son grew only in the past month but he needed his son to be able to recognize his voice.

The scene in front of him was totally unexpected. He had no idea who the good looking guy was and why he seemed so close to Meredith. After considering to leave he decided nothing would get between him and his son nor anyone, especially if Meredith was already thinking of a new father to his little boy. He cleared his throat interrupting the conversation

The moment Meredith looked at him the color and the smile on her face were gone. She hasn't seen Alex since her last ultrasound and she definitely wasn't waiting to see him before the next week, when she would have another one.

"Hi" she said quietly

"Hey" he said lowly

They were in silence for a minute. Meredith looking to her hands, playing with the hem of her shirt and Alex leaning in the door

"Meredith?" Jonathan called

"Oh, sorry, Jonathan, this is Alex, the father" she said "Alex, this is Jonathan, my lawyer" she completed

"Alex Karev" Alex said shaking the guy's hand

"Jonathan Rice"

The two men stood there, uncomfortably waiting for someone to say something but nobody did

"Do you want me to come tomorrow?" Jonathan asked

"No, we need to have it all figured out today, do you have the papers?" she asked and he nodded taking his briefcase and pulling out the folders

"Do you need anything, Alex?" she asked without look in his eyes

"I wanted to talk to you" he said quietly. He wouldn't say in front of a stranger, at least for him, that he was there to "see" his son

"I have some business to do with Jonathan would you mind to come tomorrow?"

"Hmm, I could… I'll be back tomorrow" he rambled

"It's late and after I finish with Jonathan I'd like to sleep, so I see you tomorrow" she said as she took one of the folders from Jonathan – her eyes teary but Alex didn't notice as she pretended to read the papers

"Sure, good night" he said and left

"Is he your husband?" Jonathan asked as the first tear rolled down Meredith's face

"He used to be but he asked for a divorce. I think he is waiting for me to give birth to our son to bring me the papers to sign" she said wiping the tears

"Do you really want to go through this now?" he said pointing to the papers

"Yes, give me a minute" she said taking a deep breath

"I could come tomorrow or Friday" he suggested

"No, I already took you one night away of your family we will do this today"

"Meredith, we've known each other for longer than I can remember. I know we weren't exactly friends and that when I tried to date you in college didn't exactly bring us closer but as someone who cares about you, I will give you time tonight" he said and she nodded

"Keep the papers, if you want you take a look at them, tomorrow I will be back. We could have lunch together, what do you say? Can you walk to the cafeteria?" he asked

"Yeah… I really appreciate Jonathan, I haven't seen him in a month and I didn't expect to see him tonight, I am so sorry I wasted your time"

"Hey, it is always a pleasure to see you. I will come back tomorrow and bring us lunch, I'll ask mom to cook some special pregnant healthy lunch" he said "Or are you on a special diet?"

"No, I just should avoid salt and spicy food"

"I'll ask mom to make a mild flavor"

"Thank you, Jonathan" she said honestly

"You are welcome and don't worry, I could see in his eyes he still loves you" he said kissing her cheek again

"I know he does, the problem is he hates me as well and I think lately this is how he feels most of the time" she said blinking back more tears leading him to look apologetically on her

"See ya tomorrow" he said not knowing what else to say to her

"See you" she answered and he was gone

The moment she listened to the door click she let the tears fall freely. She wasn't expecting to see Alex and it open all the wounds she was trying to heal so hard.

* * *

Alex didn't have strength to leave the hospital. He walked a few steps away of her room and seat on one of the chairs in the waiting room of the maternity wing.

_This is Alex, the father._ The words kept repeating on his head. For the first time in one year and a half she hasn't introduced him as her husband and it hurt too much. He knew they were in the rocks and that the damage both did on each other was huge but in his heart he had a small hope that they could have a second change, especially after the baby was born but now she was already introducing him as only the father of her child. Especially to a man, who seemed more intimate to her than her lawyer should be. _Lawyer. Is she filling for divorce papers? What else would bring her lawyer to the hospital? Whatever she needed could wait a couple of months until the baby was born and she was released from the hospital. The only reason she needs a lawyer now is for filling a divorce._

Alex's thoughts were interrupted by the small commotion around him. Before he could blink he saw doctors and nurses running into a room. He looked up and his heart skipped a beat

"Meredith!!!" he yelled seeing it was her room

* * *


	15. Praying God

* * *

**You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 14 - Praying God**

* * *

Alex stood on his spot for a few seconds until it hit him. Something happened to Meredith. He quickly move out of his seat and ran to her room.

"What happened?" he asked

"Her blood pressure is 171/120" said one of the nurses "And she passed out"

"Someone page Dr Green" he said taking the stethoscope of one of the residents and placing on her belly "Bring the baby monitor" he yelled but no one moved

"I am a Seattle Grace Doctor and the father of her baby, bring the damn monitor!!!!" he yelled and after seeing one of the nurses nodding with her head one of them left to get the monitor

"Inject 40mg of labetalol" he said and they did it

Alex took her chart and looked to the medication she had already had

"6g of magnesium sulfate" he said "Have you already paged Dr Green?" he asked

"Yes, she is probably home, she may take a while to arrive here" the doctor said

"We need to wait and see if she responds in ten minutes. Be ready to take her to make a C-section just in case" he said as he sat in the chair and buried his head on his hands, the tears falling from his eyes to the floor

"Sir" said the nurse that left before "The monitor" he completed pushing the cart close to Meredith's bed

Alex jumped on his feet and quickly attached the transducers on her belly. Thankfully the baby wasn't on stress and Alex moved to the chair beside her bed caressing her belly

"Daddy is here, hang in there, mommy will get better, you help her, okay?" he said and felt his son moving underneath his hand

Alex kept one of his hands on her belly and laid his other arm in the bed, laying his head over it

"Doctor, 10 minutes has passed, her BP is still 171/120" said the doctor

"What's your name?" Alex asked looking at the young woman in front of him

"Dr Smith" she answered

"Dr Smith, you know the routine, right? Are you a resident?" he asked while tears fell freely on his face, his eyes already red

"I work with Dr Green, I am an attending" she said quietly seeing his pain

"So please, do what it takes but save my wife's life, I can't, I can't do it" he said, his hands and knees trembling compulsively

"Okay, sir" she said ordering 80g of labetalol

Alex moved to his former position, close to Meredith's motionless body.

"Baby's heart beat is falling" said one of the doctors but Alex barely listened. He was on a trance. His head has been laid by her body's side while the doctors ordered medicines to be injected on her IV. Suddenly there was a silence and he raised his head immediately

"What happened?" he asked desperately

"The baby's heart beat fell but we already controlled it. We are now waiting another ten minutes for her BP to fall" said the redhead doctor

"Okay" he said and took Meredith's hand with both of his hands

"Meredith, I know we are on a bad patch now, but honey, you listen to me, I know you love our baby more than anything else and that you would give your life to save him. He is fine right now but he needs you to react, baby. I need you to react, whatever is in your head now, just drop it, imagine the three of us in the park or in the ferryboats you like so much, imagine his green eyes and brown hair and his contagious laughs in the air, this is our family baby, we will be okay but we need you to be very calm now. Relax, honey, relax" he said moving one of his hands to her hair, brushing it

Another ten minutes have passed and Meredith's BP has dropped slightly, it was still very high and they managed another dose of labetalol. A few minutes later Dr Green finally entered the room

"How is she? What happened?" she asked noticing Alex in the room "Alex?" she asked confused

The doctor explained what happened while Alex was still on his seat, brushing her hair and asking her to relax and be calm

"Alex, I need you to leave" Dr Green said softly

"I won't leave them alone" he said not taking his eyes of his wife, at least that's what he thought about Meredith now

Dr Green asked everyone to leave the room for a minute and after they did she talked again

"Alex, the nurses said her blood pressure got up after you and another guy visited her. I don't know what happened earlier but you remember the conversation we had on Dr Sloan's office? I need you to back off, they need you to back off. I don't know what caused her BP to rise but I will not risk you to be here, knowing you could have been the cause. She is unconscious but maybe she is feeling you are here. I am sorry if I am harsh but until we figure out what happened I can't have her close to you" she said

"I can't leave her" he said sobbing and the older doctor's eyes were teary

"Please Alex, her BP is dropping very slowly and we could lose her, both of them if it doesn't drop in the next dose"

"I didn't say anything to her, we didn't discuss and the guy was her lawyer, I don't know what she discussed with him, I am not the reason why she is sick, I am not" he yelled the last part

"I am not saying you are the reason she is sick, we both know you aren't, I am just asking you to back off for a while until I have this under control. I already asked they to prepare the OR, if I can't drop her BP in the next twenty minutes we will have to deliver the baby"

"But she is only 27 weeks along" he protested

"You know the routine, Alex, there is nothing else we can do, please, give her these twenty minutes and if she doesn't get better you come with me to the OR, you hold her hand there but now, please, back off, I believe you did nothing to her but maybe any situation with her lawyer caused it and it could be related or not to you"

"I can't lose her, Janice, I can't" he said looking to the doctor for first time

"So let me try to save her" she said squeezing his arm

"I love you, Mer, I can't lose you, I was a jerk and I regret what I told you everyday but please don't…" he said sobbing "die. I need you around, even if you don't want me to be your husband anymore, I need you here baby" he said kissing her forehead and leaving the room

"Now, that we know what has been so obvious, that he loves you, could you please try to relax Meredith?" asked Dr Green while they were alone in the room. She walked out of the room and asked her team to come back and support her

* * *

Alex sat in the same chair he has been sat over half an hour ago and cried, cried, cried and cried. He has finally felt his baby moving on her belly even if because it was under stress but the consuming thought of losing any of them if not both was hunting him. He has never felt anything like that. _My little boy. My tiny little boy, I can't lose him and I can't lose her. Please, if there is someone up there, please save them, I need them, I can't lose them, please, save my family._ Alex prayed on his head and the minutes seemed to be hours

"Complications?" asked a middle age man that was sat a few seats away of Alex

"What?" Alex asked

"Complications with your wife? Or your baby?" the gray haired man asked

"She… she… I could lose her and him" he rambled in sobs

"My daughter is there as well. She is giving birth to my first grandchild but she had some complications. The doctors won't let me know what happened, her husband and my family are out of city on my son's birthday. I couldn't go because I had to work and someone needed to stay with Rachel as she wasn't feeling up to sit in the car for four hours" he said defeated

"I am a doctor, an obstetrician and I treat these complications everyday. But right now… I feel so helpless, so powerless" he confessed

"You don't know their pain until it hits you. I am a cop for thirty years. I've been seen all sort of people and violence. I've been on kidnaps, robberies, I've found rape victims and I thought somehow I had developed a special skin that made me tougher than anyone else. Last year, after my wife and I came back from church we found out our house has been robbed. We weren't there, I didn't see who did it but when I entered my living room and everything was a mess and my wife was crying I felt like a puppy. I felt so small and vulnerable. We called 911 and when my friends arrived I didn't want them to see me, they would see the fear on my eyes. My younger daughter usually goes to church in the morning and spends the nights at home while my wife and I go to the service at night. She would have been there when they broke into the house but she has been in the movies with her sister that night. God knows what they could have done to her if she was there. She is only fifteen and the simply thought made me weak on my knees. I left my wife and my kids to handle the cops though they were my friends, while I was locked in my car in the garage. I was a coward but I couldn't stop thinking what would happen if Lauren was at home when they broke into the house. We think we are strong, we think we get used to violence, death, thieves and maybe we really did when it happens to someone else but when it hits us, I can assure you, we are weaker than anyone else"

"I am not ready to lose her" Alex confessed

"You will never be ready to lose her, son"

"The last words I said to her were so harsh and I was wrong, I was never so wrong in my life" Alex said between sobs

"So let's pray for God to give you time to make up" he said tapping on Alex's shoulder

"How can you be so calm?" Alex asked

"I am not calm son, I am doing what you and I are so used to do all the time, I am paying attention in your pain, so I can hide mine. What are your names?" he said softly

"I am Alex, she is Meredith"

"And the baby?"

"We didn't pick a name yet"

"Okay, I am James"

"Thank you James" was all Alex could say

"So now let's pray for Meredith and your baby" he said and lowered his head to pray

Alex listened to the old man's words finding comfort on each of them and putting all his hope in the man's prayer

"Amen" he said and waited for Alex to repeat but he didn't

"Alex?"

"Yeah" Alex said

"When someone makes a prayer, they say amen, it means '_may it happen'_, so you repeat it to confirm it" James explained seeing Alex didn't know exactly how to pray

"Amen" Alex said

* * *

Both men stood in silence for a few minutes when Alex finally spoke again

"James, what is your daughter's name?"

"Rachel Zehr" James answered

"I may not be able to pray for her as you just did for Meredith but I am sure I can get you an update"

"Thank you, Alex, it really helps"

Alex walked away and talked to the nurse. He was given the information of Rachel's condition and asked if he could go to the gallery and take a look on how they were going, showing her his Seattle Grace badge

He was back in fifteen minutes to find James surrounded by what he assumed was his family

"Alex, do you have any news?" James asked

"You are a grandfather of a beautiful baby girl. They are closing Rachel now and I am sure the doctors will be here at any minute to give you more information. They are both fine"

"Oh my God, thank you!!!!" said James' wife hugging Alex "The moment James called us we came back as soon as possible"

"Alex, someone named Dr Green looked for you while you were out, I think she has good news for you as well"

"Thank you James, I will look for her" said Alex turning around

"Alex" called James and Alex turned back

"Look I know it is really hard to go through things like this but God really helps, not only saving our loved ones but also giving us strength to stand up"

"I am not a religious person, James" Alex said apologetically

"Neither am I, Alex, I am simply a believer. Look, here is my phone, why don't you call me. We have meetings on my house every Thursday night, you should come with Meredith" said James handing Alex his card

Alex took the Seattle Police Department card and nodded leaving to find Janice

* * *

Alex took a deep breath and opened the door of Meredith's room

"Alex, where were you?" asked Dr Green while she wrote some notes in the chart

"Paying attention on someone's else pain" he simply said

"We were finally able to control her blood pressure. She is still out but it is good for her to be quiet for a while. She has spent more about forty minutes with high BP Alex. I will keep a closer eye on them from now on but I don't think I will be able to wait until August"

"But she should give birth only on September" Alex said more to himself than to the doctor in front of him

"I know dear, but our priority is to save her, right?" she asked

"Of course"

"Thankfully we were able to drop her blood pressure today. But we won't be able to make the 36 weeks we planned, I am not sure we would make 32"

"Damn it" was all he said

"Everything will be okay. You baby already showed to be very strong. He will make it Alex and so will Meredith"

"Amen" said Alex leading Janice to frown

"Are you religious?" she asked without thinking

"No, but I learnt amen means may it happen, so I hope both will be okay"

"Okay" she said and continued writing down her notes

"Am I allowed to visit her?" he asked

"I will need to talk to her first Alex, I need to know what caused her stress and if it was the cause at all. But as she was going very well for a month and showed no signs to lead to such a raise on her BP, I really think something external happened"

"Okay"

"I don't believe she will wake up today, so why don't you come tomorrow morning and look for me? I will be here at 7am and Meredith usually is awake when I arrive"

"Thank you, Janice" he said honestly.

He walked to Meredith's bed and softly kissed her forehead "Thank you"

Moving to her belly, he brushed his hand on her bare stomach and whispered to his son "Daddy loves you, little man, keep fighting, I can't wait to meet you" and then he turned to leave not without taking a look at some papers over the nearby table. _Divorce papers_, he thought and left

* * *


	16. The Decision of Us

* * *

**You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 15 - The Decision of Us**

* * *

That morning when Dr Green arrived she found a soundly sleeping Meredith. She wasn't surprised that her patient was sleeping more than she usually does after the night she had. She has asked the intern that was assigned to her that morning to let her know as soon as Meredith is awake and let the nurses know that if Alex came in, they shouldn't allow him to visit Meredith before talking to her.

Meredith finally awake around 9am but Dr Green could only visit her almost noon.

"So how are you feeling this morning?" she asked to Meredith as she took a look at her chart

"Like a truck ran over me" Meredith said honestly

"You had a serious raise of BP yesterday, Meredith" the doctor said with a stern voice

"How is the baby? Did something happen to him?"

"Hopefully he is fine but I still need to understand what happened. We were able to keep your BP stable for the past five weeks and out of blue you have a significant change on your condition. It took us nearly forty minutes to bring your BP down so don't try to fool me, what happened last night?"

"I don't know" she said

"Meredith, you do know, I was informed your condition worsened after you received the visit of two men, one of them your husband"

"The other is my lawyer" she said quietly

"Could you clarify to me which one I should prohibit to visit you from now on?"

"None of them, I don't know what happened Janice. Jonathan came by my request. There are some legal stuff I need to review with him and Alex…" she stopped

"What about Alex?" Janice asked softly

"He came in here all of sudden. He never came to visit me since he found out, except the one time he said I wasn't good enough to be the mother of his child and he was not only divorcing me but also fighting for full custody" Meredith said and Janice realized the slow but still raise on her BP

"Meredith, you need to be able to handle the father of your child. We both know he won't fight for full custody and if he does, he will lose it and I am sure he knows it. Did he say something for you that stressed you?" she asked keeping a look on Meredith monitor

"No, he only said he wanted to talk"

"Maybe to try to make some amends"

"I don't know but I wasn't expecting to see him and all I've been working so hard to keep in the back of mind, started to flood on my head. The words he said to me when he visited me on Grace, the cold look during the appointments, the five weeks he totally ignored my existence and only cared about his son" Meredith said and Janice stood up to inject some medicine on her IV

"Meredith, as I told you, you need to be able to handle him. It is his son you are carrying, he cares a lot about him and I can say he cares a lot about you too. He asked me last night if he was allowed to visit you and I said I couldn't answer because I needed to talk to you first but he was devastated with the possibility of not seeing you"

"I don't know if I can do it now" she confessed

"So I will suspend visits from him. What you had last night was really serious and dangerous Meredith. We were a few minutes away of inducing labor"

Meredith only nodded but inside she was yelling. She could have lost her son last night and now she was agreeing to keep her husband away from her

"Do you think he could keep coming in the appointments? As he has done the last couple of times?" she asked

"I think he could" Meredith said

"So I will let him know he is authorized to come next week. What about the lawyer?" she asked

"Jonathan? No, he has nothing to do with it"

"Maybe he doesn't, but the business your checking with him does"

"No, it definitely doesn't. He is coming to have lunch with me today" Meredith said

"Are you sure? We can't take any risks anymore, Meredith"

"I am positive" Meredith answered honestly

"Okay, so I will let anyone coming except for Alex" Janice said looking up to Meredith and the monitor

"Okay" she answered quietly

"Are you really sure of it, Meredith? I don't want to risk your pregnancy more than it is already but I am not sure of what could make more damage, his presence or his absence per your request"

"Why are you saying it?"

"Because even with the dose of labetalol I just gave you, your heartbeat and BP were lower when you were thinking about him coming than when you decided he shouldn't"

"I don't know what to do, Janice" Meredith said

"Well Meredith, I need you to figure out, soon, because your son's life and yours depend on this decision. We can't risk what happened yesterday to happen again in the next weeks"

"I need to think"

"I told him to come by this morning to check if he could see you or not, so he could be here by any minute and I need an answer. I could say for him to come another day that today is not a good day but I can't postpone this decision Meredith, it is affecting your condition"

"If only I knew what he wanted" Meredith thought out loud

"This is something that I can't ask him, it is too personal, I have no right as your doctor to ask what he wants to talk to you"

"I know" she said frustrated as the first tears rolled

"Dr Green" a nurse called in the door

"Just a minute, Meredith" she said walking to the door and talking briefly with the nurse

"He is already here, Meredith, what should I say?" Janice asked noticing the bump on her patient's heart beat

"I'll see him" she said uncertainly

"Meredith, this is your life and your son's life at stake, are you sure?"

"I have to try, Janice, he is the father of my son, until someone declares otherwise, he is still my husband, I can't cut him off of our lives, not if I want and need to, so I might try, give me some minutes, talk to him whatever you have to talk to him and let him come. Would you mind to be around? Just in case something happens"

"Of course not. I indeed need to talk to him and to you, our conversation is not over. There were some serious consequences of what happened yesterday that need to be talked. Don't worry, for now you are both fine, but I need to talk to you about the following weeks"

"Okay" Meredith said taking a deep breath

"I'm going to talk to Alex"

"Thanks, Janice" Meredith answered while the elder doctor nodded and left

* * *

"Alex" said Janice shaking his hand

"Janice" he answered back

"Let's go to my office, there are a few things I want to talk to you before you see Meredith" she said and noticed the relief showing in his face

"Take a seat" she said as they entered the office of the head of Obstetrics of Seattle Presbyterian

"Did you get any sleep at all? With all due respect, you look awful" Janice said worried about her fellow doctor

"It took me many hours but tiredness hit and somewhere over 5am I fell asleep" he answered

"I know Meredith is on a complicated and risky condition Alex but that's one more reason for you to be healthy. She will need all support when the baby comes. The moment the baby is out, she will be cured of eclampsia but not yet of the stress her body and mind have been through and will be through"

"How I am supposed to be fine if my wife and baby's lives are on the line?" he asked harshly

"I know it is hard but you need to be strong to both of them now and if Meredith sees how miserable you are, you could not only give her no assurance but also worsen her condition. She can't worry about anything, Alex. She needs to be as relaxed as possible"

"I don't know how to help myself, I don't know how to help my wife, I don't know how to help my kid. We are just fucked up"

"I know a way or two you can help all of you, Alex" she said and they continued talking

* * *

There was a knock in the door and Meredith prepared herself for what was coming

"Come in" she said taking a deep breath and keeping a look on her monitor

"Hey, how are you this morning? Or afternoon?" asked Jonathan as he entered her room

"Jonathan" she said relieved and disappointed

"Is our lunch still on?" he asked showing the picnic basket he had behind him

"Sure" she said forcing a smile

"Do you want to eat here or you want to do to the cafeteria?" he asked

"I am not sure I can move this morning. Last night I had a crisis and I am not really sure where I am. I am paging my doctor" said Meredith pressing the button close to her bed

Dr Smith came in the room and attached Meredith to a portable monitor of BP and HP and advised her to immediately get back to the room if there is any considerable variation

Meredith felt a bit weak and Jonathan placed his arm around her waist helping her and carrying the basket in the other hand

"What do you have there, mister?" she asked as they sat in the cafeteria

"A lot of things that if I remember correctly you don't like but also what my mom said you should be eating" he said as he started to take the Tupperware containers out of the basket

"Vegetables" Meredith said with a disgusted face

"Grilled sirloin and chicken soup" he said

"Can I eat only the sirloin and let the vegetables and soup for you?" she asked

"No, you can't missy. Let's eat, we talk about business later" he said serving her the soup

* * *

"Meredith has been worried about what you want, Alex, so let it clear to her, don't let room for her imagination. I already noticed it usually goes to the worst possible way" Dr Green said as they walked to Meredith's room

"In fact I just want to be around them. I want my son to recognize my voice, I want him to know that he has a father that loves him more than anything else. I am not ready for Meredith yet but I am more than ready for my son and I feel like I already wasted too much time" he said as they reached her bedroom both surprised it was empty

"Where is she?" he asked alarmed

"I don't know, she was supposed to be there, I'll ask the nurses" she said heading to the nurse station, Alex following

"Where is Mrs. Karev, of room 3216?" she asked to the nurse in charge

"She is having lunch in the cafeteria. Dr Smith released her to go. Do you want me to page her?" she asked

"No, we will join Mrs. Karev, thank you" said Janice as they walked away

"Is it okay for her to be there?" Alex asked concerned

"I am sure Smith didn't release her without a monitor" said Green confident on her staff

As they approached the cafeteria door and opened it, Alex could listen to Meredith's contagious giggles. Taking a look around he finally found her, the smile on his face dropping immediately as he recognized who was with her

"Who is that?" asked Janice

"Her lawyer" he said coldly

"Oh yeah, she said me he would come to have lunch with her. Don't worry she assured me the business she has with him had no influence on her condition yesterday"

"I am all to blame" said Alex bitterly as they stood in the doorway

"Alex, the situation is complicated. You are not to blame, Meredith wasn't expecting to see you all of sudden and she didn't handle it well. The surprise, not your presence" she said encouraging them to join the happy pair in the distant table

"Yeah" he said unsure

"Think about we just talked, Alex, now let's join the happy hour, it is sort of rare lately with Meredith and the baby" she said leading the way

As they approached Janice could see the monitor attached to Meredith, smiling

"Can we join the happy party?" asked Janice as Meredith and Jonathan looked to their visitors

"Janice" Meredith said still laughing and then noticing Alex as well "Alex" she said as her monitor showed an increase on her HB

"Sure" she completed

"Jonathan, this is Janice Green, my doctor. Janice, this is Jonathan Rice, my lawyer" Meredith said making the introductions

"Nice to meet you" both said and Janice took the seat by Jonathan's side

"I am afraid we can't really invite you for lunch" Jonathan said pointing out to the almost empty containers "Meredith seems to be eating for three or four, are you sure there is only one baby?" he said smiling to his old friend

"I hope all the sonograms to don't play me any joke" said Janice joining the cheerful environment as Alex remained still on his seat

"So I think this is a business lunch, after all?" asked Janice noticing the folders close to Meredith's plate

"Yeah, I need Jonathan to change some things for me" Meredith said eating her lunch

"Is it broccoli?" asked Alex shocked by her choice of food

"Unbelievable, right?" asked Jonathan and Alex still had his surprised face "We went to Dartmouth at the same time and I used to remember pizza was the only food Meredith used to eat and definitely not vegetables pizza" he said laughing of his friend

"Lots of cheese and ham" said Alex while Meredith stuck her tongue

Sensing that Meredith was having a good time in a long while and that Alex was apparently more in easy, Janice excused herself of the table, asking Meredith and Alex to page her when they were back at the room

They three of them talked while Meredith finished her lunch. Alex didn't have a bad feeling about Jonathan, he seemed to know Meredith for a long time and they were clearly keeping a friendly environment

"I can't take anything more" Meredith said

"And she finally stops" said Jonathan smirking

"I am impressed" said Alex

"Two Tupperware's of vegetables, a couple of soup and a sirloin. Alex, if I were you I will check that sonograms again. It can't be only one" said Jonathan

"And somehow she is still tiny" said Alex looking at his beautiful wife. She glowed, her pregnancy making her even more beautiful, especially with a smile on her face

"Yeah, look at my stomach, I am a whale" she said opening the surprise Tupperware that Jonathan said she could only open when she was finished with her food

"You are carrying a baby, a 27 weeks baby, you are supposed to have some weight on your belly" said Alex as his wife eyes widened

"Chocolate pie" she said excited

"Used to be one of your favorites, especially my mother's" he said smiling and for a moment Alex felt jealous that he wasn't bringing Meredith the food she liked. He was supposed to bring her lunch everyday and if the circumstances were different he would certainly do it

"Can I eat it, Lex?" she asked using his nickname for the first time in a long time, longer than he could remember

"My mom used diet ingredients" he said looking to Alex

"So, go ahead" Alex said

She barely waited for his authorization to attack her dessert

"Do you want some, Alex? I got some extra pieces for her to eat later" offered Jonathan

"Hey, it is all mine" she said with her mouth full, finishing her first slice

"Whoa, Meredith, calm down baby, you can eat but not that much" Alex warned and Meredith's heart skipped a bet at the word baby

"Well, Meredith, I hate to interrupt your sinful moment of gluttony but I need to be back at the office before 2pm, so we have only twenty minutes to work" he said pointing the folders

"Right" she said cleaning her mouth with the napkin

"Do you want to make it here or in your room?" Jonathan asked

"I think we need some privacy" Meredith said and he nodded "I'll help you with the containers" she offered

"I'll help him" said Alex collecting some of the empty containers his wife happily emptied

* * *

The three of them headed back to the Ob Gyn wing and this time Meredith didn't need help to talk, though she was lazy and feeling heavy after all the food she ate

"I will wait for you here, Dr Green said she needs to talk to us, so I am staying, if that's ok with you" Alex said

"Sure" Meredith said

"Nice to meet you, man" said Alex stretching his hand to Jonathan who shook it reciprocating the feeling

The two blonds headed to Meredith's room and she turned to Alex calling for him

"What?" he asked alarmed, worried about his wife

"You could join us, if you want" she said with a weak smile

"Are you sure?" he asked

"Yes" she said and he nodded followed them inside her room

"So did you take a look at the funds?" he asked while Alex was lost in the conversation

"Yes, they are very well applied by the way, thanks Jonathan" she said from her bed

"So what do you want to do?" he asked

"I need one million dollars" she said and both men gasped

"What?" Alex asked shocked

"I need 1M" she said

"Wow, Meredith, this is sort of short notice, let me take a look at the numbers, please" said Jonathan while Alex stayed shocked on his seat

"Well your funds currently sum US$4,237,824,52 but most of them requires a few days for you to get the money on your account. There are also the properties and your mother's fees for the books' sale – which I don't have here. Where do you want to take the money from?" he asked

"You see which one should be the best option. I also want the houses to be sold, all of them" she said

"All of them?" he asked

"Yes, all properties, I don't want to own any property except the new house I am buying"

"Are you buying a house?" asked Alex

"Yes" she said simply

"Okay" both of men answered

"Including the one you are living?" he asked

"As you can see I am living on a hospital currently and yes, including the one I was living so far. I am buying a new house I don't need to keep the old one, neither the one on Boston, or the one on New York, could you take care of it, please?" she asked and Jonathan nodded

"I need to go, Meredith" he said looking at his watch "Is there anything else you need?"

"In fact there is. Here, this is the stator, please call him and make an offer. If you want to take a look in the house, to see if it is worth one million, go ahead, I just want this house, Jonathan, do whatever you need to do to pay a fair amount and get me the house" she said

"Okay, I'll send tomorrow you some suggestions about the funds" he said standing up

"Have a nice day, Alex" he said

"You too"

"I'll call you later, Meredith, have a nice day" Jonathan said kissing her cheek

They spent some minutes in silence when Alex finally talked again

"I think we need to page Dr Green" he said

"Yes" she agreed

* * *

Five minutes later the dark haired doctor entered their room

"Well Meredith, I think you are just fine" said Janice checking her monitor results of the past hour "No problem with whatever business you reviewed with your lawyer" she smile warmly

"Good" Meredith said simply

"So I think you won't need any visitors' restriction" she said looking between the couple in front of her

"Good" Meredith said again

"Well, Meredith, yesterday I talked briefly with Alex. I need you to stay calm and let me finish, okay?" Janice said and Meredith nodded looking at Alex, her face full of fear of what the doctor would say

"Everything will be okay" he said to his wife but she could see through his weak smile that he was as afraid as she was

"I don't think I will be able to wait the 36 weeks we planned, Meredith"

"Why not? What happened Janice" she asked, her voice failing and her eyes already teary

Alex held his tears looking away of his wife for a few seconds. Hearing the news from Janice was awful but seeing Meredith's hurt and fear was hundred times worse

"The baby has been stressed last night Meredith, hopefully we were able to stabilize him but I can't guarantee how long I will be able to keep you both stable without risking any of you. He didn't suffer any after-effect that could have been detected by the exams but you did" she said and husband and wife looked at each other and to the doctor

"What happened, Janice?" Alex asked with a steady voice. He thought the elder doctor has shared all events with him

"You had a seizure, Meredith" Janice said and the tears that Meredith was bravely holding finally erupted from her eyes

"But she had magnesium sulfate!" Alex protested "We managed it" he said crying as well

"I know but it still happened. It was very short but it happened and you know where this leads us" Janice said

"No!!!!" Meredith yelled and Alex moved to the bed and embraced his wife that cried on his chest

* * *


	17. A Mighty Love

**

* * *

You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 16 - A Mighty Love**

* * *

"Hey" he said when she woke up

"What happened?" she asked confused

"We had to give you diazepam" he said with puff and red eyes

"I can't do it, Alex, I can't" she said teary

"I know, Meredith, I can't either" he sighed

"What are his chances now?" she looked up to her husband hoping for good news

"Ninety eight percent but there are the risks of RDS, HIE, ROP, BPD, anemia, gastro issues" he said thinking about the many complications their son could have

"How long should I wait to avoid them? Or at least most of them" she asked desperately

"We should wait until thirty two weeks at least, to reduce significantly the risks"

"What if I can't?" she asked weakly

"It is not as risky as it sounds, Meredith, he will survive, he will be in pain, but he will survive" the pain written on his face

"I am afraid" she said after some minutes

"I am afraid too, but everything will be okay he can make it" he said holding her hands

"I won't throw my baby into such pain, Alex. I'll wait" she said devastated by the news

"Meredith, you know the risks of waiting, you could both die, mostly you" he said. All Alex wanted was for these days to be over and for his family to be safe and sound

"Can't I wait and see what happens? If I have another seizure, then I give birth" she said

"It is too risky, Meredith. They can't operate on you while you have a seizure and they may not be able to stop it. You could be in coma, you could die, the baby could die" he said

"Can't they monitor me closer?" she tried. She would anything to spare any pain to her baby

"They are already monitoring you as close as they can. There isn't much we can do, Mer"

"I want to wait, the most I am able to, Alex" she pleaded

"Please, Meredith, don't do it to me" he said letting go of her hand and burying his head on his hands

They were interrupted by a knock in the door and it opening. They expected to it to be the nurse that would come every 30 minutes but it was Liz

"Hello" said Liz with Sassy on her arms

Looking at her friend she saw Meredith have been crying a lot

"Oh God, what happened?" Liz asked running to her friend

Alex explained the events of the last 20 hours and Liz was shocked

"I am sorry I didn't call before, Liz" Alex said. He has called her as soon as Meredith was given Diazepam, but she wasn't on vacation and couldn't come until now

"It is okay, I will call Lexie and Mark. Do you know when Cristina and Owen will be back in town?" asked Liz

"Not before next week" said Meredith

"Do you want me to call them?"

"No, we haven't make a decision yet" Meredith said

"I am so sorry, Meredith" Liz said embracing her friend

"So I am" she said

"Now, keep your spirit up, you need to keep your boy happy" the brunette said trying to help her friend. She knew Meredith would embrace her darkness and someone needed to help her to stay positive

"Aunt Medy is sick, mommy?" asked Serena to her mother

"No, honey, she just needs to be quiet" she said to her daughter who has playing with her doll in the nearby table

"Like Sashy?"

"Like Sassy" she answered

"She is adorable, Liz" her pregnant friend said

"She is driving me crazy lately, she has too much energy for her age and can't really wait her baby sister to arrive"

"She is going to love having a baby sister" said Meredith with a honest smile

"She is going to love having a new cousin as well" Liz offered with a sweet smile

"I hope she does" said Meredith teary again

"Aunt Medy" Serena called

"Yes, Sassy"

"Why you not have a littel girl like mommy?"

"Because Uncle Alex really wants to have a little boy to play with him"

"Do you, Untle Less?" she asked to Alex who was quiet on his seat, not really paying attention on their conversation

"Untle Less" Sassy yelled when he didn't answer

"Sorry, sweetie, Uncle Alex didn't listen" he said warmly smiling to the toddler

"You not like me?" she asked sadly

"Of course I do, I love you" he said looking to two women trying to understand where it came from

"No, you want a boy" she said

"I love you, Sassy, you will have a baby sister and a baby boy cousin, you will have both" he said taking the little girl on his arms

"I can carry him?"

"Once he is born of course you can"

"You play with Sashy?"

"We will all play together, you, me, your baby sister and my baby boy, okay?"

"Otay" she said and he let go back to her dolls

"She has been asking non-stop why you guys are having a boy. All her toddlers cousins are girls, she is having a sister, she doesn't understand why Meredith isn't having a girl" Liz explained as she rubbed her daughter's hair

"It will be nice for her to be around a little boy" Alex said smiling weakly

"John says he will challenge my family feminist gens and will try to have a boy, so I hope she likes the idea of having a boy around" Liz said

"Mommy, hungry" Serena said

"I'll take her to the cafeteria" offered Alex really exhausted of being in the room

"Alex is really at the end of his strength"

"Are you guys any better?"

"I don't know. Everything happened so fast, yesterday he showed up, out of blue, saying he wanted to talk and then it all happened" Meredith said looking to door her husband just walked out

"He looks miserable, Meredith, don't let him choose between you and your son" Liz said

"I know the worst has passed and that he has good chances to live if he is born now. But he will be in so much pain, Liz and we can't say what problems he could have being 12 weeks premature" Meredith said trying to explain her reasons

"The baby is not in such danger as you are. He knows the baby will make it, what is killing him is losing you" Liz said

"Liz, this is my boy, my tiny little boy that will be in constant pain. He could have complications, lifetime complications, he will be through a lot of pain. You are a mother too and I know you would do anything in the world for your unborn girl"

"I know Meredith, but I would do anything for John as well. Yeah, the girls are very important to me but if it wasn't for John I wouldn't have any of them. If something happens to you, Alex will be devastated and so your baby. He will miss his mother and I am not sure if Alex will be in no condition to give him all he needs. Meredith, Alex loves you the way I love John. This is rare to find, so cherish" Liz said from the bottom of her soul

"I can't say the future, Liz and I obviously don't want to die. I want to be around my little boy. I need to try Liz. And I need Alex to understand" Meredith said but she knew it was a lose-lose situation for her

"Have you talked to him about it?" Liz asked quietly, hoping her friend wouldn't think she was intruding

"No, I had to be sedated. I woke up just before you arrived"

"Talk to him, Meredith" Liz said sliding her hand to her friend's shoulder and giving her a assuring nod

* * *

Not much later Mark and Lexie arrived in the hospital but they left soon as Meredith really needed to rest. She made they promise they wouldn't spoil their vacation because of her. First because she wanted her sister to enjoy their mini-vacation and second because she wanted to spend more time alone, with Alex and the baby.

"Hey" Alex said after all of them left. He has barely been in the room since he left earlier.

"Hey" she said weakly

"How are you feeling?" he asked rubbing her hair

"Like my head would kill me. These headaches are really close to unbearable" she complained

"It is still eight do you want me to stay with you until nine or do you want to stay alone or sleep?" he asked, his voice full of concern

"Would you mind staying?" she asked

"Of course not" he said with a soft smile

"I mean, staying, staying" she pleaded with her eyes

"For the night?"

"For as long as I am here and you are on vacation" she finally said

Alex couldn't feel any better. The weight that has been on his shoulders immediately were gone with her question

"That's all I want. I will ask for a sick license in the hospital" he said kissing one of her hands

"I don't even know if I will be able to carry on until your vacation is done. Let's talk about your vacation first" she pointed out

"Okay" he said with a weak smile

"Thank you" she said from the bottom of her heart

* * *

There was a lot to talk but Alex was worried about his wife condition. Meredith didn't want to make her husband more miserable than he was, so she stayed quiet.

Their quietness was interrupted when Dr Green came to check on Meredith. She preferred to avoid the topic as well. She knew as soon as they made a decision, they would let her know. They knew well the risks, Alex especially and they knew they needed to take a decision soon.

"I am sorry" she said breaking their void of words

"Don't be sorry, nothing of this is your fault" he said "I will support whatever you decide". He tried to offer his support but Meredith could read on his face it was killing him to say those words

"I am sorry for hiding it. I am sorry that I lead myself to this position" she said showing how guilty she felt about it

"You know this is not true. You've been through a lot with Sassy and the kids in the hospital. Maybe if we were good, it would take some more time but you can't say you wouldn't be in the exact position you are today" he reassured his wife holding her hands and kissing her cheek

"I shouldn't have hidden it from you. I was so lost and worried about your reaction.I should have known you wouldn't abandon me or the baby" she said

"I was an ass to you. Nothing you could possibly do should allow me to say the things I've said. I was a jerk. You were scared and I should have supported you because you will be the best mother any kid could dream about" he said looking deep on her eyes, showing his soul on his words

"I missed you" she said and the tears started to fall

"I missed you too. We are together, unless you don't want me to be your husband anymore. I am here as your husband not as the father of your son" he said hugging his wife tight

"I love you so much it hurts" she said in their embrace

"So what about you start loving me less so you won't hurt?" he asked with a smile

"It is impossible but I am sure if you stay with me it won't hurt" she said reaching for his cheek with her thumb

"I am not going anywhere, not now, not ever because I love you" he said leaning down and kissing her softly and briefly

"Can you do it again? Longer?" she pleaded

He didn't answer, he just kissed wife without a care to the world. For a moment he would let himself feel like everything was okay. He has been surprised by his wife hunger when she wouldn't let him go

"Best medicine" she said between kisses

"What?" he asked alarmed pulling off of her and looking at her monitor

"Your kiss is better than any medicine" she explained as she brought him back for one more kiss

"So be prepared for an overdose" he said brushing her hair and looking into her eyes

"I love you" he said

"I love you too"

* * *


	18. Mr & Mrs Karev

* * *

**You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 17 - Mr. & Mrs. Karev**

* * *

When Dr Green checked on Meredith that night, Alex asked authorization to sleep with his wife for the next ten days. Janice assured that as long and he didn't disconnect any of the wires on her body, they could share the bed. Meredith was still a tiny person with a swelled belly. She had gained minimum weight and there was enough room for Alex to be with her.

They have been kissing and confessing their love for awhile but soon he realized she was tired and he positioned her on his chest and they slept.

Dr Green arrived at 7am as she used to arrive everyday and was happy with the scene in front of her when she entered the room. Both of them were sleeping soundly and she wondered it would take them a while to wake up.

She took Meredith's chart, as she usually did and was surprised by what she seen. The nurse that came at every thirty minutes would give the dose prescribed by Dr Green if there was a small variation. If there was no variation, she would came back in twenty minutes, if there was a bigger variation she would page the doctor on call to check on Meredith. Usually Meredith would take a new dose at every hour before the incident and at every thirty minutes since the incident but for Janice's surprise she didn't take a dose for the past ten hours. She checked the report printed by the monitor with the variation of her BP and she could see it barely rose for a few moments in the night but for most of time, she was stabilized.

"Finally some good news" she said to herself leaving the room with a smile on her face

* * *

Alex woke up not much later after Janice left and kissing softly Meredith's forehead he slipped carefully from the bed and went to the adjacent bathroom.

When he came back she was still sleeping, like an angel, so he decided to do what he did the most in the past days. Check her monitor. He saw the same Janice saw. He was happy she was responding well to the medicines. It was a good sign. Surely it couldn't mean anything and she could have a new seizure at any moment but at least her BP was under control.

He found a pen in the table and took a paper writing a note to Meredith and placing in on her stomach. He kissed her forehead one more time and left the room.

He has asked for her chart in the nurse station. He has been previously authorized by Dr Green to check on her chart whenever he wanted and all nurses were informed about it. He was happily surprised to know that for the first time in the past five weeks, almost six, she hasn't taken the medicines during her sleep. Surely she has had magnesium sulfate to avoid seizure but not one mg of labetalol. Thanking the nurse with a big grin on his lips he left the hospital. Today was definitely a good day.

* * *

Meredith woke up an hour later and missed his body by her side. She has awakened a few times during the night to ensure she wasn't dreaming. Alex was really with her and they had made up. Sitting on the bed she soon saw the note he left for her.

_You look like an angel sleeping._

_Pregnancy suits you, you look even more beautiful._

_Tonight was the best night of my life, with you and our son._

_Don't worry while I am away I will be back soon. Had some errands to run_

_I love you so much._

_A._

She would never get tired of listening, or reading for that matter, that he loves her. It was like music to her ears. They were finally together and she felt like the weight of the world has been taken out of her shoulders. She felt happy for the first time in her pregnancy and she was sure their baby could sense it as he was kicking on her stomach. Usually he was very quiet. At first it worried her but Dr Green said it was expected for him to be quiet because of the amount of medicine she took on a daily basis. But this morning he seemed excited. Maybe he knew it was his father's body that was so close to him during the whole night. She couldn't wait for Alex to come back and share the news with her husband. She got the opportunity to take a shower. She paged the nurse that checked on her BP and released Meredith to taker her shower.

Five minutes later Alex entered the room to find it empty. He was surprised at first but then he listened to the water in the bathroom. He didn't think twice, knocking the door softly to let Meredith know someone was there. He didn't want to startle her.

"Baby, it is me" he said opening the door slowly

"I am in the shower" she said

"I know" he said pulling the curtain

"I thought you would be out longer" she said

"Do you want me to be out longer?" he asked

"No, not really"

"And what about closer?" he asked kissing her softly letting the water fall on his face

"I would love"

"Me too" he said taking his shirt away and then his pants and boxer

"Is it allowed?" she asked

"I don't think is part of the hospital polices" he said joining her

"I mean, because of my BP and HB and all" she said weakly

"Yes, baby, your HB can rise a bit"

"Okay" she said

"But we can't have sex" he said taking the sponge and scrubbing her back softly

"Too bad"

"Too bad indeed" he said taking his time on her back and arms. He hasn't touched his wife for months and he missed it more than anything else.

"How long have you been here?" he asked

"I think five minutes at most"

"So you are probably here almost ten" he said

"I can never say the time I spend in the shower" she giggled

"God, I missed it so much" he said kissing his wife with a smile on his face

"Shower?" she asked smiling

"The sound of your giggles" he said as they stood there in front of each other with the water falling between their bodies

"I have good news" he said as he scrubbed the sponge on her belly

"So do I" she said caressing his head

"But I won't say it until we finish, let's not bring too much emotion to your little heart" he said

"So we should finish this shower soon, I am already anxious" she said as he scrubbed her legs

"We are all done" he said giving her the sponge and the soap

"Thank you" she said taking it and scrubbing where she knew he purposefully didn't washed

"Do you need help to get out?" he asked

"No, I'll wear a dress and ask the nurse to attach the wires" she said

"Go ahead and dress yourself, I don't take a shower for two days. I'll meet you there in a few and take care of the monitor" he said looking at her beautiful body. Pregnancy just only made her more beautiful

"Okay" she said kissing his softly

* * *

Alex quickly finished his shower and he left the bathroom in time to see her climbing in the bed

"Need help?" he asked as he dried his hair with the towel

"No, I am fine" Looking at her husband toned abs and pecs. He was definitely the hottest guy her eyes ever laid on

He was dressing up his shirt when there was a knock in the door and he left to the bathroom

"Hey, Meredith" Dr Green said "Why didn't you ask the nurses to get your monitor wires on you?" she asked concerned

"Alex will take care of it. I just finished showering" she said

"I'll do it for you" she said taking the wires when Alex emerged from the bathroom

"Good morning, Dr Green" he said with a grin on his face

"Please, tell me you didn't do what I think you did" she said looking to the both of them

"If you meant I took a shower with my wife, yes I did now if you meant we had sex, no, we haven't" he said with a mischievous smile

"Right" she said smiling as well

"So I think everything is alright this morning?" she asked to Meredith

"Peachy" Meredith said smiling truthfully for the first time since she was admitted in the hospital

"Did you check on her already, Alex?" she asked turning her back to Meredith and looking to Alex

"Yes, I checked her monitor reports and her chart this morning. I was about to talk about it with her" he said with a huge smile on his face. The relief and the happiness for being with her and for her to be healthier made him glow

"Okay. So I will be back later, page me if you need anything" Janice said leaving the couple

"So what is the good news?" Meredith asked as Alex carefully got the wires on her

"I got breakfast, not cafeteria or Starbucks breakfast but from that little café you love" he said connecting her IV. He knew she hated needles so it was a great time to distract her with the breakfast news in the exact moment he needled her.

"Ouch" she said feeling the little needle entering her skin

"All Done" he said kissing her cheek and looking to the monitor to show the first data

"No need for labetalol now but I'll manage magnesium sulfate, okay?" he asked

"Okay" she said as he carefully injected the medicine on her IV

"I'll share my good news eating breakfast" she said starved

"Okay. I got your favorite pregnancy menu" he said brushing her hair with his free hand

"How come do you know my favorite pregnancy menu?" she asked smiling "I don't think I have a pregnancy menu" and now her giggles filled the room and Alex couldn't ask for nothing more, except to have his little boy on his arms

"Because what you need for the baby to be healthy is your favorite" he said kissing her nose and opening the large bag

"Fruits, yay" she said faking enthusiasm as she saw bananas and apples

"These are for later. Here, your drink" he said handing her a huge cup

"Smoothie?" she asked surprised. It seemed like a child opening Christmas gift

"Yup, with your favorite ice-cream" he said "Diet, surely" he completed

"Why are you taking all my sugar off? Dr Green didn't really suspend it. Just said to avoid over taking it" she protested but still excited about her smoothie

"Because we want our baby to sleep at night and to do not have diabetes when he is born. Trust me, the less sugar you have, better for him and for us" he said stroking his thumb on her face. God, he couldn't spend a second without touching his wife

"Thank you" she said savoring her smoothie

"Australian bread" he said enthusiastically

"Which has tons of sugar" she said excited

"Diet" he completed with an apologetic smile

"Bleh" she answered sticking her tongue

"And cookies – not diet" he said with a grin

"Thank you!!!!" she said giving him a peck in the lips

They started eating their food, well Alex was eating, Meredith was devouring it

"I have more good news" he said after taking a sip of his smoothie

"Really? Chocolate pie?" she asked

"You still have Jonathan's but no my dearest starving wife, it is not pie"

"Oh, okay" she said losing her enthusiasm

"You didn't take one single mg of labetalol this night" he said with a huge grin on his face

"Really?" she asked letting go of her cookie

"Yeah, there was minimum variation on your BP and though it is good news it isn't that great. You know at night the chances of variation are smaller and that the real prove will come in the next couple of days"

"I am sure it will raise less often. I am really happy you are here with me Alex. Consciously I haven't thought about what happened because I tried to block the best I could for the baby, but unconsciously it was there and I am sure it had influenced my condition" she said reaching for his hand

"I know baby and that's why I am not leaving you, not even if you kick me out" he said kissing her forehead and looking intensely to her eyes. His assurance was everything she needed

"Good because I am not the only happy" she said with a goofy grin on her face

"What?" he asked copying her features

"Look" she said grabbing his hand "In fact, feel" she said as she placed it over the soft kicks their son was doing since she finished her shower

"Is he kicking?" Alex asked totally surprised

"Hey, you are the Ob Gyn here" she said holding her hand on his

"This is amazing" he said. His face was one of pure happiness and joy. Meredith has never seen him like this before

"I know. I felt it few times before. He didn't move a lot and Janice explained me that probably the medicine let him lazier" she said

"It can happen. They relax you and consequently him" Alex said amazed with the feelings not only in his hand but also in his heart

"I also think it has something to do with you. He knows you are his father and I am sure he was happy you were with us last night. He misses you from when we used to sleep together" she said thinking when she rid her pregnancy of Alex

"Hey, kiddo. This is daddy here. I promise to be around every night until you are here" he completed "Except for my on call nights"

"It is good to have you here" she said with a genuine smile on her face

"It is good to be here, I don't belong anywhere else" he said from the bottom of his heart

* * *


	19. 6 Months, 4 Weeks and 2 Days

* * *

**You and Me and All Other People**

**Chapter 18 - ****6 Months, 4 Weeks and 2 Days**

* * *

Like Meredith predicted, her blood pressure showed less variation in the following days. They knew it was a risk to continue the pregnancy but they were hopeful she would be able to wait a few more weeks without risking her life.

They were really willing to spare as much as pain as possible to their little one but things wouldn't go as they have imagined.

For the first three weeks nothing really happened. Meredith still needed her multiple doses of medication on a daily basis but her condition seemed stable. The vacation of SGH residents was now over and Alex decided to sleep with Meredith everyday and leave from there to the hospital.

Jonathan has worked on her funds and also made a lower offer to the house and it saved Meredith a couple of thousand of dollars. It was definitely a good moment to buy houses. In two days the house would already be on Meredith's name and Alex would help her to pick furniture not only for the nursery but also to the house. Meredith wanted to get rid of everything on her old house not only the house itself. It would be fun and though she couldn't do it personally she was just happy for internet and for the catalogs Alex got with some stores that didn't have online catalogs.

Everything was going well for the couple. Until it wasn't.

* * *

Alex woke up that morning and took his shower just like he did everyday for the past three weeks. He would shower and get Meredith breakfast before heading to SGH. It required him to wake up thirty minutes earlier but he didn't mind. Meredith would be wake up everyday and they would eat together before he left but that morning it didn't happen.

Alex looked to her beautiful face before heading to get their breakfast. Something seemed difference but he couldn't quite know what. Her blood pressure was surprisingly lower than the normal rate. It was rare but sometimes labetalol could lead it to drop too much. He brushed the thought of his mind and headed to the Starbucks across the street.

When he came back he was surprised to see Meredith was still sleeping. He thought about not waking her but then he looked at the latte he bought her and decided to wake her up so she would drink it while it was hot.

"Meredith, baby, time to wake up" he said softly rubbing her arm but got no response

"Meredith" he said louder "Wake up, baby" he rubbed her harder but again there was no use. His heart started to race and the worst immediately came to his mind

"Meredith" he said almost yelling "Wake up, baby, please, open your eyes to me" he said shaking her arm and then slapping her face softly

"Meredith!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled hitting the emergency button

* * *

The next hours were blurred on his mind. He remembered they went to her room and rushed her from there. They had agreed he would be on her delivery but he was in no condition to watch his wife, on coma, going under a C-section. They have managed the medication and waited for Meredith to wake up. According to her monitor she has had a seizure by the time Alex was taking his shower and was in coma ever since. Somehow their friends showed up. He didn't know who had called them but Cristina, Mark, Lexie, Liz, Bailey were all there. Liz rescheduled her surgeries with Mark's consent and stayed with Alex as the hospital couldn't be down of so many surgeons. Cristina wanted to stay as well but an emergency made her head back to the hospital. She promised Alex once she was out of the OR she would lead back to the Presb.

"Alex" said Dr. Smith who has been following Meredith's case since she was admitted

Alex couldn't read the doctor's face and he felt Liz squeezing his hand as he stood up.

"Alex, we were able to deliver your boy. He was born at 10:23 weighting three pounds and one ounce and sixteen inches long" she said

"Oh my God!" was all he said and Liz thanked God silently

"We are moving him to the NICU and injecting steroids to his lungs development" she completed

"What about Meredith?" his voice cracked and his heart sunk

"They are still operating on her, as soon as the baby was born, Dr Green asked me to come update you" the doctor said apologetically. She wish she had better new about Meredith

"How was she when you left?" he asked above a whisper

"She is bleeding Alex but she will make it, keep the faith" the doctor said and left

"I am calling Mark" Liz said sympathetically

"She can't die, Liz, she can't die" Alex said shaking his head forcefully and finally burying it on his hands

"She won't die, Alex, she won't abandon her little baby. Congratulations, Alex, you are a father of a baby boy" she said hugging her friend

"Thanks Liz" he said through tears

"And as the doctor said, keep the faith, she will make it, she is a fighter" she said softly, giving his hand a squeeze before she stood up to make the call

Alex opened his wallet and went through the many papers until he found the one he was looking for. He got his cell phone and dialed the numbers, hoping to find James

"Detective Zerh" someone answered

"James?" Alex asked

"Yes, who is this?"

"Hi, this is Alex, I am not sure if you remember me" he said crying

"Of course I do, how are Meredith and the baby?" James asked with concern. It couldn't be a good call

"He was just born, they needed to make a C-section, she had a seizure and was unconscious" Alex said between sobs

"So you are a proud dad of a boy?" James asked warmly

"Yeah, they are taking him to the NICU but Meredith, she didn't make it yet, they said she is bleeding. She could bleed to death, she could have another seizure, I can't lose my wife, James, I may need a mi—miracle" Alex said the last past lowly

"Do you want me to come out there?" the policeman offered. He knew Alex needed support now.

"No, but would you do that again?" he asked desperately

"Do what? A prayer?" the elder man asked

"Yeah, I feel like we need it now" Alex said quietly

"But of course I can do it, Alex" James said contently that Alex decided to look for God's help

"I was told to keep the faith but I don't know how to do it by myself and all I could think was it worked the last time and I really need it now" Alex said while his voice cracked. It was difficult for him to do it, not only because Meredith could die but because it was hard for a man like Alex believe in such things like prayers, miracles and God. The life he had made him believe such things didn't exist, otherwise he would have had a better life.

"Sure, I am sure God will hear us. Let's pray, Alex" James said and they prayed for some minutes. While James said all the words, Alex silently agreed with them all. He let the tears fall down from his eyes and didn't see when Liz had embraced him. She had called Mark and had listened to Alex talking to someone in the phone and occasionally saying amen.

"Amen" James said at the end and Alex repeated

"I am sure God listened to our cry, keep the faith Alex, He can see your pain and Meredith's and He is merciful of all his creation" the policeman said trying to make Alex understand what it was all about

"I need her, James" Alex said from the bottom of his soul. He couldn't see his life without Meredith, he wasn't sure he would survive.

"I know and hopefully she will make it and you will enjoy the blessing of having a family, the blessing of children" his voice was calm and filled of hope and it somehow comforted Alex

"I can't make it without her" he confessed his weakness and how powerless he felt

"So stop thinking you will do it without her. Stay positive and believing, Alex" James offered softly. It seemed the voice of wisdom to Alex

"But I am so screwed up, everything is so messed up on my life" he said opening up his heart, over the phone, to someone that was basically a stranger but he didn't care

"This was before you put everything on God's hand. Now go see your baby boy" he said and Alex thought for the first time about his boy, that was already born and somewhere in the hospital

"Thank you, James" Alex said and there was some steadiness on his voice. The thought of his son, alone in the hospital somewhere, without knowing he had a father and a mother gave him courage to be there for his son until his mother could

"Keep me posted, I may want to make a visit to you and your family, meet the new member and know your wife" James said with such confidence that made Alex believe everything would be alright

"It will be a pleasure" Alex said thinking about the image of the three of them, as a family and a smile showed on his exhausted features

"I'll be waiting for news" Jamie said

"Thanks, call you later" Alex said and with that he hung up

"I made a prayer too" Liz said softly

"I wish I knew how to do it by myself" Alex admitted. While some weeks ago he would be embarrassed to confess he thought about making such thing, now he felt embarrassed because he didn't know how to pray

"Now go see your son" she said giving him an assurance smile "Did you guys picked a name?"

"Meredith said she has but would surprise me when he was born. I need her for everything, Liz, even for naming our son" Alex sighed. There was no way he would be able to do it without her

"And she will proudly do it, now go, I am sure he needs his father around while his mother is fighting for her life" Liz nodded and offered him a smile and he could see hope on her

"Thanks, Liz" he said and she only nodded once more

* * *

Alex talked to the nurses he already knew by their first names. They called the OR and Dr Green let them know Dr Smith was taking care of his son and that he could go look for her.

The nurse went with Alex and after she got the redhead doctor authorization Alex changed into the NICU scrub and entered the room.

There were two units, the first one was the feed and grow unit where babies went to gain weight solely. Alex knew the chances were his son wouldn't be in this unit and he indeed wasn't. He entered the next room, the critical NICU unit and there he found Dr Smith. She had just finished hooking all the wires and tubes on him and regardless of how much it broke his heart to see his son in that condition his heart was filled with joy as he saw his boy for the first time.

"He is a beautiful boy, Alex, congratulations" she said honestly

"Thank you. He took that after his mother" he said, this thoughts never going away of Meredith, who was still in one of the hospital OR's.

"It is too early to know everything now but his apgar was four when he was born and is seven now. We will need to run some tests and wait and see. We had to intubate him because he wasn't breathing but you know it is not that uncommon" she said softly and apologetically

"I am so sorry you are going through this, son, but you and mommy will make it, okay?" he said and before he could continue he was interrupted by Dr Smith's pager

"It is Meredith, Alex, you should go and look for Janice" she said and Alex felt his heart sinking inside of him

"Okay" he said but didn't move. It hadn't been too long since Dr Smith talked to him, maybe forty minutes. It wasn't enough time to control her bleeding and close her. He was rooted on his position. He couldn't move.

"Alex?" she called

"Did she make it?" he asked but on his voice the doctor could sense his defeat. He was waiting for the worst.

"I don't know Alex. It just said Dr Green is out of surgery" she said with an apologetic voice

* * *

Alex slowly walked away from the NICU, he didn't look at this son before turning to leave. He couldn't look at his son knowing his mother was probably dead by now.

A million of thoughts went through his mind as he made his way back to the maternity wing. His cell phone rang while he walked but he didn't mind to answer. In fact he barely noticed it rang. He turned the last corner and he could see Liz crying. _It can't be good._ Janice had her back to him and he couldn't see her face and she couldn't see him. When he was almost reaching for them Liz looked up and saw him. She wasted no time on running from her place as much as her six months pregnancy allowed her. She threw her arms around his neck and said some intelligible words.

Dr. Green explained carefully everything that happened in the past hours. Alex was still shocked by the turmoil of emotions he has been through that morning. Alex took several minutes to finally think straight. Liz let him know she had already called everyone and they were coming as soon as they could. Taking his cell phone he hit the redial button.

"Detective Zehr" the same steady voice of earlier said on the other side of the line

"She made it, James, she did it" said Alex through tears

* * *


	20. Epilogue

* * *

**You and Me and All Other People**

**Epilogue**

* * *

After the news about Meredith, Alex walked back to the NICU to make his son company. Meredith was sleeping and she was expected to be out for the next hours. He followed as Dr Smith ran all the exams and tests and waited anxiously for the results the come. He knew his little boy was in pain and it broke his heart but he was happy. Alex was a happy man. He finally had a family.

Just after he got the news he called his mother, Joan and Sarah. Though they knew Meredith had a high risk pregnancy he never really explained how risky it was and he knew they would nearly kill him.

He knew there was nothing they could do to help and it would cause a lot of unnecessary pain on them. And Alex would do anything to spare his family any pain. _His family._ He thought. They weren't his family anymore. He was theirs but his family now was Meredith and their little boy. Their beautiful little boy

He went to the waiting room a couple of times to talk to their friends. Most of them couldn't wait until Meredith was awake and they would just come to visit them properly after their shifts in the hospital.

Alex never felt so good like when he received the hugs and handshakes congratulating for his son. He was a father now and he never had a better feeling. He had took a few pictures of their little boy and proudly showed them on his phone. When any of their friends said that his son had something of him he felt like his chest would just explode of happiness.

* * *

He was back on NICU when he finally received the page he was waiting the whole afternoon. Meredith was awake. He gave the little hand he was holding a soft squeeze and left to meet his wife.

He softly knocked the door and opened it to find his exhausted but still beautiful wife being assisted by a nurse to sit on the wheelchair

"I got it" he announced walking towards her and thanking the nurse who left

He carefully and silently helped her. The smile drawn on his face never subsiding.

She finally made it to the wheelchair and he crouched in front of her looking intensely to her beautiful green eyes that were wet and more beautiful than ever

"You did it, babe" he exclaimed while his eyes also got teary "You did amazingly, our little boy is beautiful. He is all you" he completed and the first drop rolled slowly down his cheek

Meredith didn't say anything, she only let the tears fall and there were many of them, all filled with such joy and happiness that she couldn't quite explain. She was a mother. It was so overwhelming and most of the feelings were unexpected. It seemed like the rest of the world was now so insignificant and only her little boy mattered. That and the man in front of her. The man that made all her dreams come true, even the ones she never had before meeting him.

"I love you, Meredith" he confessed kneeling down and resting his forehead on hers

"I love you too, Alex" she answered wrapping her arms around his body and holding him with her life

"Let's meet our little boy" he suggested kissing her forehead and standing up to steer her wheelchair.

* * *

Meredith grew anxious and happier by each step Alex took leading her to the NICU. She was about to meet her son for the first time.

Though she couldn't hold him on her arms the moment she saw him was the happiest of her whole life. It was like someone had blew life on her nostrils and she felt it spreading for all her body. It was like she was born again.

"He has apnea and showed some brachycardia and reflux issues. It is okay though. He is very strong and I am sure those won't let any after effect" Alex explained while her eyes were filled with tears again looking at the little boy in front of him. There weren't words to describe the feeling he had as he watched the woman he loved most in his life and their son, the fruit of their love.

"He has your nose and your mouth" Alex pointed out as his wife moved her hand to touch their son "I think he will be blond as well and I wouldn't doubt if he had your eyes too" he completed

"He may have all my features but the world will know he is your son" she said looking back to her husband and her emerald eyes looked even greener wet by her tears "Welcome to the world, Alexander Noah Karev" she announced with a broad smile on her face

"Are you serious?" Alex asked touched not only because she named their son after him but also after his brother

"He is a Karev man" she answered and he leaned down to kiss his wife and then hugged her as they watched their little boy. There was no way his world could get perfect. Well, except that there was.

_

* * *

Six months later_

"I'd like to invite Mr. and Mrs. Karev and their family to present Alexander Noah Karev" the pastor of the local church said

"I can't believe I won't be a godmother anymore because Meredith decided to become protestant" Cristina moped to Owen by her side that only smiled at her shaking his head slightly

"She is not protestant" said Liz by her side "Alex is just thankful to one of the presbyters" she explained referring to James.

"She doesn't even believe on it, why can't she be catholic, like anyone else and get her son christened like anyone else's?" Cristina complained

"Let's pray" the pastor said and they raised their hands to the where Alex, Meredith, Joan, Sarah, Alice, Thatcher, Molly, Laura, Nate, Eric, Lexie and Mark stood while the pastor held the six months old baby

"We now present Alexander Noah Karev to God. May God give his parents wisdom to show him the ways he has to walk. May God protect him of the dangers of childhood and that he declares as younger as possible that Jesus is his savior. That Lord's blessings protect this house everyday of their lives. In the name of Jesus, amen" the pastor said and the congregation agreed.

Meredith and Alex were touched by the words. Not only because they gave their son for God to protect but also because somehow they felt hope that with God's blessings the tragedies were in the past.

Alice couldn't hold back her tears. She was a grandma of a beautiful boy. Lex as they called the little boy grew into a healthy baby after spending thirty six days in the NICU. He had hazel eyes but they looked as sweet as his father's. While his hair was honey blond at first it was getting darker as each day passed and now was a light brown. The more he grew, more he looked like Alex and less like Meredith though he did have her tiny nose and mouth.

Meredith had resumed her activities in the hospital as soon as she was released by Janice. She got Lex transferred to Seattle Grace NICU after two weeks when she resumed her position as a seventh year resident. She made a deal with Mark and she would get her four remaining weeks of maternity leave as soon as Lex was released to go home.

They had decided to bring him to the hospital day care when her leave ended, especially because she was working a couple of extra hours daily to make up for the two months she lost between sick and maternity leaves.

Lex was a happy and quiet baby. Alex and Meredith couldn't be more blessed. He would sleep most of the night and had his regular schedule to be fed. He laughed all the time, sometimes leading his parents to laugh with him and of him.

All his aunts drooled over him. Especially Cristina and Lexie. Even when Sophia, Liz's baby girl, was born Lex didn't get less attention. He was their sweetheart.

* * *

"It was beautiful" Meredith exclaimed on their way to their new house. She loved it. It was the opposite of her mother's house and she was thankful for Izzie's advice all these years ago.

"Yes, James was very nice for getting the pastor to agree to present Lex as we aren't exactly members" Alex said paying attention in the traffic

"According to Mrs. Zerh he is already a member" Meredith giggled lightly, turning to the backseat to look at her little angel. Lex was sleeping and she didn't want to wake him up, espcially because he looked like a real little angel when he was sleeping.

"Can you believe mom was jealous of her?" Alex asked shaking his head lightly

"Of who?" Meredith said turning her attention back to her husband. The moment she laid her eyes on her son she forgot the words that just came out of her mouth. Lex had this effect on her and he looked so cute and peaceful while he slept.

"Lillian" Alex explained still thinking it was ridiculous for his mother to be jealous of James' wife

"Cristina is jealous because we didn't have a catholic or even Jew ceremony. She can't get over the fact I am her son's godmother and she isn't of ours" Meredith said giggling. This was totally like Cristina's

"It is only because our little boy has the Karev charm. No female can't resist. It doesn't matter his age or their age" Alex quipped with a proud smile plastered on his face

"Oh my God, I hope I can raise Lex as a humble man. I can't stand two cocky Karev's" Meredith said rolling her eyes playfully but the truth was she wanted nothing more than her son to be exactly like Alex. She was proud of her husband. He was an incredible man and she hoped for him to get more of Alex than just his features.

"Baby, one, you love us, cocky and all, two, he is a Karev there is nothing you can do about it" he said shrugging his shoulders

* * *

They were passing by the drugstore when Meredith remembered she needed to buy something and asked him to stop by

He offered to buy whatever she needed but when she mentioned something along the words vagina, female and picking brands he let it go. He was an Ob & Gyn and handled it every day, so he was supposed to be used by talking about these things, but he preferred to avoid it, it was his wife and her vagina, after all.

Meredith knew the moment she mentioned these words he would change her mind. She had been suspicious for about a week and she couldn't wait for her visit to come anymore. But also she didn't want him to know what she was doing. Although she wouldn't make the same mistake again, she wanted to surprise him if the result was what she expected.

She came back ten minutes later and opening the backseat door, she put the bag with the many pregnancy tests behind her seat.

"Did you find what you needed?" Alex asked. He could see that there were several boxes in the plastic bag though he couldn't see what they were

"Yep" she confirmed trying to hold back her anxiety but the goofy and easy smile was plastered on her face

They had talked about it a few times after Lex was born. She wanted to have more than one kid and so did him and both agreed that it was easier to have them as soon as possible. She wanted to go through the different stages of their childhood by the same time. But Meredith should be careful with her wishes as she had no idea of what expected her.

She thought she wouldn't have the energy to have a baby when Lex was already an older child and already independent, leading her to start the process all over again. She thought that who took care of a 24x7 dependent baby could take care of three, four or six.

They were yet to agree at how many children they would have. They would know it was enough when the time came but they were excited to have more than one more pregnancy.

They finally arrived home and Meredith quickly jumped off the car getting the tests bag and also Lex's bag, while Alex took the baby seat while Lex was still soundly sleeping. He would always take a nap before lunch time.

Meredith told him she was going upstairs take care of her female thing. She giggled when he grimaced at her words. It amused her he was an OB & Gyn.

* * *

She had been holding her pee ever since the church but she wanted to have the results as soon possible. She got the five exams lined up on her private bathroom sink and waited for the eternity of those five minutes. Alex got upstairs just after her, to lay Lex on his crib. He entered their room and asked her if she was okay while he changed into some more comfortable clothes though in less than two hours their families would come to their house for the barbecue. He and Meredith would announce Cristina and Mark as Lex's godparents. They didn't need a paper or a ceremony to have them as family to their son.

It had been a hard decision for them to make, as they knew Liz and John and also Lexie wanted to be his godparents as well but they would have to wait batch number two, and it was closer than they thought.

Finally the longest five minutes of history passed and Meredith smiled to herself at the five similar results.

She entered their bedroom and found Alex reading some hospital paperwork. She stopped just in front of him with both of her hands on her back

"Pick a number from one to five" she asked with a grin showing on her face

"What are you planning, Mrs. Karev?" he asked with a mischievous smile

"Just pick a number" she demanded and he could say by the shine of her eyes that she had a great surprise to him

"One" he said raising an eyebrow

"Okay" she said while moving the sticks from on hand to the other on her back and showing him the first one

"What is this?" he asked recognizing the format of the pregnancy test, a grin also appearing on his face

"What it says?" she asked as he studied the stick amazed

"Two pink lines" he exclaimed standing up

"Pick another number" she proclaimed giggling

"Two" he said reaching for her waist

She moved the second stick to her free hand and gave it to him "What it says?" she asked

"It has a plus sign" he yelled throwing both sticks in the floor and taking his wife on his arms spinning her around

"Hey, I don't want to start having morning sickness" she said giggling in the air

"Sorry" he excused placing her on the ground again. He kneeled in front of her and raising her top he kissed her stomach "We are pregnant again" he whispered looking up to her

"I guess we are, at least that's what five pregnancy tests say" she said moving her hand atop of his on her belly

"How far along do you think you are?" he asked

"I have no idea but tomorrow my very sexy and amazing husband will do my first sonogram and I hope to find out" she declared kneeling down as well being at the same level as him

"Do you want me to be your doctor?" he asked amused

"Well, while I know you can't deliver it, I think there is no problem for you to be my doctor throughout the pregnancy, though I want Janice to monitor it as well, so she won't feel a stranger during my labor" Meredith explained and brushed his lips quickly. She felt miserable for everything she kept from Alex on Lex's pregnancy and she was willing to forget the ethics and just have her husband as her doctor as well. Mainly it was only about routine exams and appointments and if anything went wrong again, they would have Janice to step up

"I think it is perfect" he agreed really happy. They were pregnant again and that this time he would actually enjoy everything about it. The few weeks he had the chance to enjoy Lex's pregnancy was some of the best of his life and he wanted to enjoy this experience fully with her new pregnancy

"Do you think we should announce today?" Meredith asked as they both leaned on their bed, still sat in the floor

"Yes" he answered kissing her cheek "They are our friends and family, there is nothing for us to hide, only to share" he said with a proud and happy smile

_

* * *

Six months later_

"One, two, three, push, Meredith" Janice said while Meredith used all her strength to push the baby

"You are doing great, honey, just keep pushing. They are almost here" Alex said while he whipped the sweat of her face with a hospital cloth. He couldn't believe she was already delivering their babies. Surely they were preemies, just like Lex, but this time there was no eclampsia. Her tiny frame just couldn't afford to have the babies there any longer. There was no space.

Because of her recent history, they knew all the risks she had and they started controlling her blood pressure the moment they did the first sonogram that confirmed she was pregnant. She had an uneventful pregnancy except for morning sickness. She had been sick for almost the seven months and a half of her pregnancy. She was first suspicious because of this. If Lex made it almost impossible for her to get a hint that she was pregnant, these ones made it very clear.

She and Alex couldn't be happier. Everything was better than they ever planned. She finished her residency with him. They had a beautiful baby boy that would have brothers in no time. They had everything they needed. They were opening a practice with Liz where Meredith would start when the babies were one year old. Alex would also be part of the practice. Noah Karev Wellness Center would have the three doctors and also a therapist and a general doctor, both from Seattle Grace residency program.

They found a beautiful place near to Anne Hill and it was perfect for Meredith. It would be close to their house and she and Liz was already taking care of the daycare space they would have for their children. Jacob, the shrink, had four children, two of them younger than four years old and Amanda, the general doctor, had three children, all of them infants. They would hire nurses and the administrative staff and chances are there would be even more kids younger than five years old.

And then there would be their newborns as well…

The first cry was listened in the room. "Welcome your son, Alex and Meredith" Janice said as she placed the baby in the hospital cloth and handed to Dr Smith to show to his proud parents

"Hey, buddy" greeted Alex nearly on tears. He knew he would cry and he didn't care. They were having their children today, only three days after Lex's first birthday and he couldn't be any happier.

"He is beautiful, Alex" Meredith remarked and her tears were long ago on her face.

"Welcome to the world, Julian Michael Karev" Alex said handing him back to Dr Smith for her to run the routine preemie tests. The little boy was just a perfect mix of his mother and father

No longer after Julian, they introduced Jayden Gabriel Karev. The boy was the spitting image of Meredith.

Meredith's journey was yet to finish and she could say their last baby wanted to make her first appearance remarkable. Meredith pushed another good thirty minutes until they finally welcomed Isabella Alicia Karev and as it was expected, she was just a mini Meredith.

The three babies were as healthy as they could be being born five weeks before Meredith's full term. They spent only a week in the NICU, more as a precaution, and in another week they were finally home.

_

* * *

One year later_

"It is a good thing our munchkins' birthdays is basically in the same day, I don't know if I'd have patience and strength to make it twice a year" Meredith confessed as she hang the balloons over the cake table

"I would make it every month if it was the case" Alex smiled as he hung the piñata

"Seriously, this piñata is creepy, Alex" she said smirked

"That's the point, isn't?" he asked as he embraced her from behind smelling her hair "Did I say 'I love you' today?"

"Papa" said Isabella joining her parents

"Go take care of your favorite Karev woman" Meredith rolled her eyes but the smile she had never left her face

"Well, I love you and I wouldn't have them if it wasn't for you" he said turning around her and kissing her passionately

"And I don't think I would ever have it if it wasn't with you. I never wanted anyone else to be the father of my kids" she proclaimed with a goofy smile on her face

"So I am happy that I made your dreams come true, Mrs. Karev and I thankful that you make me dream. I didn't have any dream at all before you and now I have more than just dreams" he said looking down at his wife and then to his daughter that was distracted by the many things on their backyard. Their toddler kids were definitely as curious as their mother.

"I love you, Mr. Karev"

"I love you, Mrs. Karev" he said kissing her gently

* * *


End file.
